Details

Written by: Rex M. Rogers

Published: 23 December 2024

Probably most of us look forward to Christmas, the memories, the family, friends, and food, the traditions. Ever wonder where some of those traditions started and why?

Hi, I’m Rex Rogers and this is episode #184 of Discerning What Is Best, a podcast applying unchanging biblical principles in a rapidly changing world, and a Christian worldview to current issues and everyday life.

In the past 2,000+ years since the humble but majestic birth of Christ the Savior in Bethlehem, people the world over have celebrated this event with now thousands of Christmas traditions.

The Bible does not provide specific practices for us to follow regarding the celebration of Christmas, as it does, for example, regarding communion or baptism. But as with all things in our lives, believers should assure our practices and traditions align with or do not violate Scripture.

Christmas traditions include the Nativity story or Christmas crèche, Advent, Christmas trees, Christmas carols, special foods and family gatherings, gift-giving, and varying traditions developed by different Christian groups worldwide.

“In the Middle Ages, Christmas celebrations were rowdy and raucous—a lot like today’s Mardi Gras parties. By the early 1800s, Americans made Christmas a family holiday for warmth, tranquility, and peace. Christmas was declared a federal holiday in the United States on June 26, 1870.”

“The Christmas crèche, also known as the Nativity scene, “a beloved Christian Christmas tradition…originated in Italy during the 13th century, when St. Francis of Assisi wanted to create a live representation of the Nativity story…The Nativity scene holds deep symbolic meaning for Christians. It reminds believers of the central message of Christmas: the love and grace of God.”

“The Nativity story is more than just a religious Christmas tradition or a way to celebrate the holiday season. It is a reminder of the profound and powerful message of Christianity – that God loves humanity so much that He sent His only Son to earth to save us. The Nativity story reminds us of the importance of humility, kindness, and compassion, values that are at the core of the Christian faith.

The Nativity story also reminds us of the miracle of the Christmas season – that even in the darkest days of winter, there is hope and joy to be found.”

My Good Wife and I are blessed with four children. When they were little and on into their college years, we developed a family tradition around the Nativity scene.

Early in our marriage before we had children, we began buying individual, 4”, realistic-looking Nativity set figures at the big Sears store at the mall. As I recall now, we purchased these over two or three Christmases. Once we had a full set, I made a manger or barn out of spare lumber, a piece of old paneling, and sticks—yes, sticks from trees in our yard. Then I added a brown felt cloth for the ground and sprinkled fake straw. Voilà, we had our manger scene.

Every year, day after Thanksgiving, we’d find the manger and its Nativity figures and then I’d unwrap them one by one as the kids took turns placing them in the manger. Mom unwrapped a few figures too or watched nearby. We always saved the Baby Jesus until last and rotated each year who got to place the Baby in the manger. Our tradition did not take long, but it was fun and a big deal for the kids. This kicked off the Christmas season with a focus on the meaning of Christmas and the message of the nativity.

Our kids were spread out in age, a daughter and son two and one-half years apart, then 4 years, and another two sons two and one-half years apart. So back then, I’d come home and ask, “Where’re the kids,” meaning the older, followed by, “Where’re the little boys?”

It was one of the little boys that introduced a funny story. One day after the placing of the figures in the manger, I walked into our bathroom, then found my wife and said, “There’s a cow in our tub.” One of the little guys stole a cow from the manger scene, carried it awhile, then pitched it in the tub. Thankfully, it did not break. Not even a chip.

Interestingly, when they were wee little like that, all the kids tended to focus on the Baby Jesus and could frequently be found carrying the Babe around in the house. Something about the Baby attracted their little hearts.

Later with our children and now with our grandchildren, you can peak into the Nativity scene and perhaps find Yoda or a dinosaur or maybe an elephant. It’s all in good fun.

In Frankenmuth, Michigan, we are blessed with Bronner’s CHRISTmas WONDERLAND, reputedly the world’s largest Christmas store. “Founded in 1945 by Wally Bronner, Bronner's CHRISTmas WONDERLAND is visited annually by over two million people.” We visit this store every few years simply to walk through the acres of lights and ornaments and Christmas wonder.

My favorite stop is the Nativity section, wherein Bronner’s features a not-for-sale collection of several Nativity sets from around the globe, along with many varieties one can purchase. The interesting thing about the global Christmas crèche representations is that the people in the manger scenes look like the people or cultures or countries that created them. In other words, there are Korean and central African, SE Asian, Eskimo, South American, and Pacific Island people in the manger scenes, representing the key characters of the biblical story.

Some people reject this, saying it is somehow improper because the real Nativity characters were Jewish. Some go a step farther and criticize this as “cultural appropriation,’ the supposedly imperialistic commandeering of others’ cultures for your own designs. Some see this as a threat to the biblical account.

But I do not. I like this. In fact, when one can see oneself in the Advent and the redemptive story it portends, I think this is a wonderful application of Scripture.

This said, perhaps not all Christmas traditions are worthy, so how should believers evaluate the appropriateness of Christmas practices and traditions? We might “lament how friends, families, churches, and in some ways, we ourselves get drawn into the craziness. Folks would get to the end of the season worn out, in debt, overweight, and with this weird and depressing sense that they’d missed the point of Christmas.”

One key doctrinal source of direction is what’s called “Christian liberty.” This doctrine allows for differences in practice among believers, but at the same time provides direction for our evaluation. Did we inherit our traditions from our culture? Are they harmless or harmful? The Scripture says all things are lawful for us, but not all things are helpful or build up (1 Cor. 10:23-29).

In some countries, certain Christmas traditions are mixed with pagan ideas that are presented alongside or integrated with Christian teaching. It’s difficult to understand how the German Christmas demon figure called Krampus that supposedly visits children and punishes badly behaving ones is at all edifying or good for children. It certainly is not biblical.

Or we could get carried away so much with the secular emphasis on gift-giving and lights and materialism, that we lose sight of what we sometimes call “the real meaning of Christmas.”

For a while in the US, a secular movement tried to remove religious references from Christmas entirely – saying “Happy Holidays” rather than “Merry Christmas,” nixed playing religious carols in stores or public spaces, and removed Nativity displays from county courthouse lawns, etc. It’s now a cliché, but we do, indeed, need to “Keep Christ in Christmas.”

Another tradition: though he is a kind-hearted, merry old soul, some argue the Santa Claus tradition should not be celebrated with children.

“The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back to a monk named St. Nicholas who was born in Turkey around A.D. 280.

St. Nicholas, a Christian saint known for his kindness and generosity. gave away his inherited wealth and traveled the countryside helping the poor and sick, becoming known as the protector of children. 

St. Nicholas first entered American popular culture in the late 18th century among Dutch families in New York…In 1822, Episcopal minister Clement Clarke Moore wrote a Christmas poem called ‘An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas,’ more popularly known today by its first line: “Twas the Night Before Christmas.” The poem depicted Santa Claus as a jolly man who flies from home to home on a sled driven by reindeer to deliver toys.” It’s all harmless fun.

Clearly, Christmas is a special time. I wish you a Merry Christmas and pray you and yours enjoy many worthy traditions. If not, I encourage you to start some traditions for your family.

Well, we’ll see you again soon. This podcast is about Discerning What Is Best. If you find this thought-provoking and helpful, follow us on your favorite podcast platform. Download an episode for your friends. For more Christian commentary, check my website, r-e-x-m as in Martin, that’s rexmrogers.com. Or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers for more podcasts and video. 

And remember, it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm.

© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2024  

*This podcast blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact me or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com/ or my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers, or connect with me at www.linkedin.com/in/rexmrogers or https://x.com/RexMRogers.

Details

Written by: Rex M. Rogers

Published: 25 November 2024

Let’s consider some ways we can participate in “thanks giving” during Thanksgiving.

Hi, I’m Rex Rogers and this is episode #180 of Discerning What Is Best, a podcast applying unchanging biblical principles in a rapidly changing world, and a Christian worldview to current issues and everyday life.

Thanksgiving is a rare precious tradition that combines Christian theology and the best of Americana.

God told us to “give thanks in all circumstances.” (1 Thess. 5:18).

He said, “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.” (1 Tim. 4:4-5)

And we’re commanded to “enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!” (Ps. 100:4)

The Pilgrims celebrated what’s considered the First Thanksgiving with Native American neighbors in Plymouth Colony in 1621.

October 3, 1789, President George Washington issued a Thanksgiving Proclamation, recommending the People of the new United States express their sincere and humble thanks to the Lord. 

October 3, 1863, with the nation riven by Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation designating “the last Thursday of November, as a day of Thanksgiving.” 

Certainly, other countries have their own versions of harvest festivals or days of giving thanks, although they may not be exactly the same as the American Thanksgiving. For example:

• Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving on the second Monday in October. While it has similar themes of giving thanks for the harvest, it has a different historical origin—linked more to the early French settlers in Canada and the end of harvests in late fall.

• In Liberia, a country founded by freed American slaves, Liberians celebrate Thanksgiving on the first Thursday in November, mirroring the American tradition, though it has its own unique history and customs.

• Many countries have harvest festivals or days of gratitude, like the British Harvest Festival or “Brits-giving,”which celebrates the harvest season and is similar in spirit to Thanksgiving, but it doesn't have the same historical narrative tied to it.

So, while the American version of Thanksgiving is distinctive in its historical and cultural context, the idea of giving thanks and celebrating the harvest is a theme that resonates in many parts of the world.

But the Pilgrim Thanksgiving at Plymouth Colony was special in several ways:

1. “Pilgrims were singularly motivated by a quest for religious freedom.” Most other pioneers to the New World looked for gold or furs or land.

2. “Pilgrims stand out for they succeeded in maintaining the longest-lasting and most equitable peace between natives and immigrants in the history of what would become the United States.” 

3. The Pilgrims rejected “socialism (in favor of) the adoption of private enterprise.  
   1. After the meager Thanksgiving harvest, the second season of collective farming and distribution proved equally disappointing. 
   2. Governor Bradford had seen enough, recording that the system ‘was found to breed much confusion and discontent and retard much employment that would have been to their benefit and comfort.’ 
   3. So, before the 1623 season he scrapped socialist farming and replaced it with private ownership of land for each of the families. 
   4. As a result of becoming responsible for their own welfare and gaining freedom to choose what to grow for consumption or trade, the Pilgrims’ productivity surged.”

Sometimes, we hear that the holidays, Thanksgiving included, is a difficult time for some people, not a time of joy but of pain and sorrow. This is because holidays are generally considered times for family and friends and if you happen to be a person whose relationships have broken down for any number of reasons you may very well be alone. This is a way for the rest of us who are blessed to minister to those in need by inviting them to socialize with us, whether at the Thanksgiving dinner or otherwise. Being alone is not a plus in the human experience.

Then what about Thanksgiving Day traditions – other than giving thanks, eating, and football – what other fun and fellowship do families pursue on this special day?

• Well, it is interesting to note that in 1956, the business Swansons developed the famous TV dinners off leftovers from Thanksgiving meals.

• Pumpkin pie is as associated with Thanksgiving as are turkeys.

• According, to plumbing company Roto-Rooter, the day after Thanksgiving is “far and away the busiest day of the year.” The company warns to be extra careful with turkey grease, potato peels, rice, and stuffing, as they are sure to clog your drain or overwork your garbage disposal.

Stores all across the country have some of their biggest sales the day after Thanksgiving. Now known as Black Friday, this day is almost a holiday in itself. While this shopping tradition has changed with the rise of e-commerce, people still stand in line for hours early in the morning to get great discounts and start their Christmas shopping.

Some people, especially those who supported the losing candidates during the 2024 U.S. presidential election, are now saying that family and friends with whom they disagree politically should not be invited to Thanksgiving festivities. In other words, if you are conservative or Republican, you distance yourself from family and friends who happen to be liberal, progressive, or Democrat, and vice versa. This point of view absolutizes politics, making political matters the end-all, be-all of life, and it perpetuates division and social disintegration.

This is not a Christian view, because it elevates temporal political ideas and angst above biblical values like love, forgiveness, tolerance, and the rest of the fruit of the Spirit. There is no reason Christian believers need separate themselves from those with whom they disagree politically, and if this means not discussing tense disagreements for a time, so be it. No matter one’s political views, what matters is the Lord, His Word, Christian teaching, and how we live out our Christian faith in family and community. Thanksgiving should be a time of gratitude, and there is much to be grateful about, whatever our politics.

In recent years, there’s been a kind of cultural backlash among some Americans against religious holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas – so much so we’ve been told to avoid celebrating Thanksgiving because Americans decimated Indians and it’s hypocritical to perpetuate a myth of good feelings, or we’ve been told not to say, “Merry Christmas” because this pushes Christianity on others. Has this trend changed? Is it changing?

I think it may be changing. There seems to be a growing awareness that our country, though strong, is also in some ways weak, for example, a declining commitment to truth and thus right and wrong, lack of respect for law and order and thus increasing crime, promotion of sexual libertinism and thus emotional damage, disease, broken families, unwanted and unloved and thus traumatized children.

Hopefully many in our country are recognizing a need to return to time-tested, values, values that reinforce families and hold a nation together. If we don’t think and act right, we won’t thrive or maybe even survive. But if we embrace a Christian moral ethic, we can flourish.

Back to gratitude. 

It is not possible to thank God “too much.” Think about a loved one, perhaps your spouse. Do you get tired of hearing that he or she loves you? Is it possible to tell your children too often that you love them?

In the Psalms, the shepherd-King David repeatedly praises and thanks the Lord for every conceivable circumstance and blessing in David’s life. This is our model. Thanks be to God the author of every good and perfect gift.

I hope your personal experience with Thanksgiving has been endearing and uplifting. Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to thank God from whom all blessings flow, to enjoy family and friends, to acknowledge God’s redemptive message of hope.

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks” (1 Thess. 5:16-18).

Happy Thanksgiving.

Well, we’ll see you again soon. This podcast is about Discerning What Is Best. If you find this thought-provoking and helpful, follow us on your favorite podcast platform. Download an episode for your friends. For more Christian commentary, check my website, r-e-x-m as in Martin, that’s rexmrogers.com. Or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers for more podcasts and video.

And remember, it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm.

© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2024   

*This podcast blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact me or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com/ or my YouTube Channel @DrRexRogers, or connect with me at www.linkedin.com/in/rexmrogers or https://x.com/RexMRogers.

Details

Written by: Rex M. Rogers

Published: 31 March 2024

Who is this man Jesus, and is He risen, is He risen indeed?

Hi, I’m Rex Rogers and this is episode #141 of Discerning What Is Best, a podcast applying unchanging biblical principles in a rapidly changing world, and a Christian worldview to current issues and everyday life.

I believe the most important question in the Bible, and thus for every human being, is this:

• “What think ye of Christ?”(Matt. 22:42) as worded in the KJV. 
• “What do you think about the Christ?” ESV.
• “What do you think about the Messiah?” NIV.

This inquiry puts the ultimate question to each person about our existence, purpose, and potential for mending our broken relationship with the Heavenly Father. It is the central question of the Gospel. Who do you believe Jesus Christ is?

Do you believe he is who the Bible says that he is? And do you place your faith in him and him alone, his sacrifice on the cross for your sin and his resurrection defying and defeating physical and spiritual death forever?

“Salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ is the main topic in the New Testament…The Gospel is the good news of our reconciliation from the death of sin to eternal life in Christ.”

In Acts 4:12, the Scripture says, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

And of course, the best-known verse in the Bible, John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

So, answering the question, what do you think of the Christ, is an experience with eternal implications.

Think of Jesus on the crucifixion cross. Sinner on one side, a robber condemned to death who angrily mocked Jesus as the Christ (Luke 23:39-43).

Sinner on the other side, a man who rebuked his fellow criminal, saying, “Don’t you fear God,” we deserve this, then sincerely expressed his faith but asking Jesus to remember him when he came into his kingdom. Savior in the middle, who responded to the Sinner’s plea with “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

I’ve always valued this detail in the Bible account. We’ve all heard of deathbed confessions and salvation in the Lord. Perhaps some of us have witnessed this. They are possible, just like the thief on the cross, because as long as we have breath there is hope. And the salvation of a dying person, who seems to be saved by the skin of his teeth, is just as complete and the blessings of heaven just as great as any who come to Christ at a young age and live a life as unto the Lord.

Think again of Jesus on the crucifixion cross. “We get our English word excruciating from the Roman word ‘out of the cross.’” I’ve written before about how the cross, an instrument of torture and gruesome death, which in the providence of God has now become an internationally recognized symbol of hope.

In one sense it is ironic. Why would Christians worldwide want to hang a tool of torture and death, a cross, on the wall of their house or place one in their churches? Why would they want to wear a cross on a necklace? Because the cross has become a symbol of the “redeeming benefits of (Jesus’) Passion and death. The cross is thus a sign both of Christ himself and of the faith of Christians.” What we now see in the cross is not death but Jesus’ victory over death (1 Cor. 15:26, 54-57).

But the story does not end on the cross, which is why I prefer an empty cross over a crucifix.

The question “What think ye of Christ?” focuses us back to Easter, for without Easter, without the resurrection, there would be no future for Christianity or for humanity.

We believe what the Bible teaches that Jesus was crucified on the cross, died, spent three days buried, and then rose the third day, Easter morning.

In Matt. 28:5-7, the Scripture records, “The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you.”

In 1 Cor 15:14-22, the Apostle Paul responds to those in the Corinthian church who apparently rejected the idea a body could be resurrected. He says, “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 

For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.”

Because of the resurrection on Easter morning, there is:

• Victory over sin and death.
• The reality that if we know Christ, we will see again those believers who have died and gone on before us.
• A future in which we know the end of history.
• Everlasting hope.

When I was a kid, Easter seemed to have been a bigger deal than it is now. 

People dressed up, I mean really dressed up in what was called their “Easter Sunday best.” Clothes, of course, do not matter in terms of worshipping God, but then again, to strive for a higher level of excellence said something about the importance of the occasion. Now, our dressed down culture seems to delight in going the other way. OK, so be it, but it makes me wonder.

Churches back then scheduled more Easter sunrise services than they do now, though I know some still do this. Again, there is nothing extra-sacred about such a service. It is just a time for the church community to join in celebrating “He is risen. He is risen indeed.”

My upbringing and church background did not include Lent, a Christian religious observance commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, before beginning his public ministry. “In Lent-observing Western Christian denominations, Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends approximately six weeks later; depending on the Christian denomination and local custom, Lent concludes either on the evening of Maundy Thursday (Holy Thursday), or at sundown on Holy Saturday, when the Easter Vigil is celebrated, though in either case, Lenten fasting observances are maintained until the evening of Holy Saturday.”

“In Lent, many Christians commit to fasting, as well as giving up certain luxuries in imitation of Jesus Christ's sacrifice during his journey into the desert for 40 days; this is known as one's Lenten sacrifice. Often observed are the Stations of the Cross, a devotional commemoration of Christ's carrying the Cross and crucifixion.”

Since I grew up among many Catholic friends in our community, I often heard them say they were “Giving it up for lent” in reference to all manner of habits and practices. I’m not suggesting here that people who observe Lent are not sincere or in some way unbiblical, but I will go so far as to say that much of what I observed of this religious practice seemed to be about checking certain boxes and getting it over with. But again, I can’t see in a person’s heart, so I cannot stand in judgment of their sincerity. I can say, though, that those who put their faith in the observance of Lent as a part of a works-based, earn salvation approach, are indeed at odds with what the Scripture says and the Reformation remined us. Sola fide. Sola gratia. Sola Christus.

Easter is a day like no other in religion.

Jesus, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26).

Well, we’ll see you again soon. This podcast is about Discerning What Is Best. If you find this thought-provoking and helpful, follow us on your favorite podcast platform. Download an episode for your friends. For more Christian commentary, check my website, r-e-x-m as in Martin, that’s rexmrogers.com. 

And remember, it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm.

© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2024   

*This podcast blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact me or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com/, or connect with me at www.linkedin.com/in/rexmrogers or https://twitter.com/RexMRogers. 

Details

Written by: Rex M. Rogers

Published: 01 January 2024

Have you ever noticed the dramatic change that takes place the week following Christmas from “peace on earth” to “let’s let it all hang out”?

Hi, I’m Rex Rogers and this is episode #126 of Discerning What Is Best, a podcast applying unchanging biblical principles in a rapidly changing world, and a Christian worldview to current issues and everyday life.

In my recollection, when I was a kid, most people enjoyed the Christmas season right on into the New Year’s. These days, I’m not so sure if most people still enjoy the season, though I assume it’s reasonable to say many people do.

But Christmas to New Year’s involves a big shift, at least I always thought it did and I still do. What I mean is there is a palpable transformation in tone from the few weeks leading up to and including Christmas on into the week following Christmas up to New Year’s Day.

Before Christmas, people catch the Christmas spirit. Gas station clerks wish you “Merry Christmas.” People at the airport, though harried by travel, for the most part are excited, happy, and pleasant. Retail stores brim with red and green, bright colorful lights, and various representations of Christmas, whether religious or secular.

Then Christmas is suddenly over and in one fell swoop, people’s moods change.

Gas station clerks return to their often seen-it-all surly selves. People at the airport are manic and driven. Retail stores still brim with color, but Christmas disappears fast, moved to the discount section, and customers take on a frenzied push to find the right foods for the planned blowout New Year’s Eve.

Media, especially television, really evidences this mood swing. Sure, there’s a few Christmas themes, commercials, and classic films still on air, along with football bowl games, but the big push is New Year’s Eve – ads about celebrities, singers and bands, and a lot parties. In fact, it’s a take a walk on the wild side atmosphere from here on out.

The focus is the upcoming last midnight of the old year and ringing in the new year.

Nothing wrong with this per se, but I’ve always felt the values being expressed were radically different from the week before Christmas. Earlier, it was silent night, love, home, family and friends, tranquility, peace on earth. With New Year’s, it is raucous rowdiness, sensuality, hit the clubs, noise, revelry-around-the-world, bacchanalia, the ball dropping in Times Square, and maybe most of all, drinking, a lot of drinking.

It’s probably the latter that makes me react. An endless evening of shallow celebrities expressing how ostensibly happy they are in their carousing status.

Maybe part of my pullback is that I have never been a drinker. I don’t think it is a sin, per se, to drink alcoholic beverages. Excess or drunkenness is the real problem.

That said, I do think drinking alcohol is like playing with fire. Clearly, many people cannot handle it and succumb to alcoholism. Even for those who don’t become substance abusers – like so many Hollywood and entertainment stars, a community that year-after-year lose a few to the all-too-predictable endgame of their addiction, for example, “Friends” star Matthew Perry, who at 54 years of age recently drowned in his hot tub. He was not drunk and in fact had apparently been sober for some time, but he struggled with years of alcohol abuse, surgeries, treatments, and prescribed drugs to assist his return to normalcy. However, his autopsy showed he died of acute effects of ketamine, a drug designed to treat anxiety and depression. He’d apparently taken too much, which resulted in unconsciousness, and he slipped below the water. In other words, one of the variables in his early death is traceable to his long abuse of alcohol.

In 2012, once-in-a-generation singing voice Whitney Houston died similarly at 48 years of age, drowning in the bathtub of a Beverly Hills hotel. Alcohol was a factor, while her “toxicology report found that ‘cocaine and metabolites’ contributed to her passing.” There is incredible sadness in this kind of early, avoidable demise. In 1991, to open Super Bowl XXV, Whitney Houston sang the “Star Spangled Banner.” Her presentation was so special, so goose-pimple-producing, it is yet regarded as one of the best renditions of the National Anthem ever sung and may be watched on YouTube. So, losing Whiney to alcohol and substance abuse is dreadfully sad.

But even among those who don’t abuse alcohol, there are the special occasions like New Year’s when there seems to be an expectation and an acceptable excuse. So people get drunk because, well, Hey, everybody’s partying, and some later die in vehicle accidents, some get pregnant, and some embarrass themselves physically or in what they say or do while drunk. Remember actor Mel Gibson’s horrid antisemitic comments he made while knockdown drunk, comments that yet stain his legacy in the film industry.

In my view, all this is celebrated in the party-hardy motif of New Year’s Eve. Lost in this are the “Silent Night, Holy Night” values of Christmas.

Now you could say, Rogers, you’re just a prude, or maybe, Rogers, you’re just getting old. Maybe. But my unease with the riotous living of New Year’s Eve doesn’t change the fact it all takes place worldwide.

This year, ringing in 2024 takes place under the shadow of threat assessments warning of potential terrorism. God forbid that any attacks happen, but the threat is viable. “Heightened security measures in the hours ahead of and after ringing in 2024” are in place for New York City’s Times Square. “The move comes after the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other federal agencies warned police departments across the country about potential threats to large crowds celebrating the holiday, including from lone actors motivated by the Israel-Hamas war.”

France is on very high alert. “German police are planning one of their largest security operations in Berlin. In light of the Middle East conflict, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said she was ‘concerned that New Year's Eve could once again be a day on which we experience blind rage and senseless violence.’”

Similar concerns focus on New Year’s Day parades and football bowl games featuring large, concentrated crowds. Unprecedented security efforts will take place during the Rose Parade and at the Rose Bowl.

Year 2024 is an unknown to all of us looking into the future. None of us are Nostradamus, who was not all that accurate a prognosticator himself. We hope to avoid pandemics and protests, wars, rumors of wars, and culture wars. But whatever 2024 entails, as believers we can rely upon the providence, the presence, the promises, and the peace of God.

We know God is Sovereign. He is the Creator, and he is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. We know there is no such thing as luck, fate, destiny, or “May the Force be with you.” Rather, in the vernacular, we know God the Heavenly Father is providentially in charge.

We know God is with us. His son, Jesus, and our Savior is called Immanuel, “God with us.” We know Jesus said, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt 28:20). We know Jesus also said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Heb 13:5). The Holy Spirit “himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Rom 8:16). We know we are never, no matter what we experience, outside of the presence of God.

We know God keeps his word and fulfills every promise. Scripture says, “You know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed” (Josh 23:14). We know that “What is impossible with man is possible with God” (Lk 18:27). God is God, our God, today and tomorrow, and his promise stands even to be with us in the valley of the shadow of death. (Ps 23).

We know, too, that only in the Lord there is peace. Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”(Jn 16:33).

Whatever the new year brings, trust in God’s providence, experience his presence, lean on his promises, and enjoy his peace. And celebrate the spirit of Christmas throughout 2024.

Well, we’ll see you again soon. This podcast is about Discerning What Is Best. If you find this thought-provoking and helpful, follow us on your favorite podcast platform. Download an episode for your friends. For more Christian commentary, check my website, r-e-x-m as in Martin, that’s rexmrogers.com. 

And remember, it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm.

© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2024   

*This podcast blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact me or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com/, or connect with me at www.linkedin.com/in/rexmrogers.  

Details

Written by: Rex M. Rogers

Published: 25 December 2023

Do you think it’s possible to experience peace of any kind in a world so bent upon envy, disruption, violence, and sin?

Hi, I’m Rex Rogers and this is episode #125 of Discerning What Is Best, a podcast applying unchanging biblical principles in a rapidly changing world, and a Christian worldview to current issues and everyday life.

Christmas is a time we typically think good thoughts about family, friends, and oh yes, peace. But the world is anything but peaceful Christmas 2023.

The Ukraine struggles against Russian aggression, Sudan finds itself once again in a senseless, brutal civil war, and the Holy Land is immersed in war as Israel attempts, as they say, “to eradicate Hamas,” in response to Hamas’s barbaric unprovoked, surprise attack killing, maiming, raping, and kidnapping hundreds of Israelis, Oct 7, 2023.

Christmas, though, is about peace. Isaiah 9:6 announced, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Jesus’s peace, as we sometimes assume, is not necessarily physical safety and political harmony.

The babe in the manger who became the Savior because of Calvary and the Resurrection, said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid,” Jn 14:27.

The Hebrew word for peace is shalom, commonly used as Jewish greeting. Shalom in this verse means more than just the absence of war. It references all kinds of peace: wholeness, welfare, physical health, quietness, mental and emotional stability. It means “an appearance of calm and tranquility of individuals, groups, and nations”…and “the deeper, more foundational meaning of peace is “the spiritual harmony brought about by an individual’s restoration with God.” 

This reminds me of the beloved Christmas carol, “Silent Night.” My SAT-7 colleague Dennis Wiens recently observed, “Josef Mohr, a Salzburg clergyman, wrote the lyrics in 1816, just after the Napoleonic Wars. (His) congregation in Mariapfarr (Austria) was reeling from the war, which had decimated the country's political and social infrastructure. The song's message of peace was sent into a time marked by war, hunger, disease, and natural disasters.”

Two years later, “Josef walked to a hill overlooking his town one evening. This quiet time, alone, allowed him to process and reflect as he and the town prepared for Christmas Eve 1818.

“Reveling in the majestic silence of a wintry night, Mohr looked over the Christmas card-like scene of his town. He reflected on a Christmas play he had just watched that triggered his memory of a poem he had written a couple of years before. That poem was about the night angels announced the birth of the long-awaited Messiah to shepherds on a hillside. Mohr decided those words might make a good carol for his congregation the following evening at their Christmas Eve service. The one problem was that he didn't have any music to which that poem could be sung.”

“So, the next day, Mohr went to see the church organist, Franz Xaver Gruber, “a local schoolteacher who the next year became the organist of Old Saint Nicholas Church. By that evening, Gruber had managed to compose a musical setting for the poem. That the church organ was inoperable no longer mattered to Mohr and Gruber. They now had a Christmas carol that could be sung without an organ.”

“The now-famous carol was first performed as "Stille Nacht Heilige Nacht," Josef Mohr, the young priest who wrote the lyrics, played the guitar and sang along with Franz Xaver Gruber, the choir director who had written the melody.” It was later first performed in the United States in New York City in 1839.

“The contrast between the carol's message of tranquility and hope and the violence during a time marked by war, hunger, disease, social upheaval, and natural disasters is obvious and compelling.”

“It was sung in churches, in town squares, and even on the battlefield during World War I, when soldiers sang carols from home during a temporary truce on Christmas Eve. It's considered the Christmas carol that paused a war!”

“Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace

Sleep in heavenly peace!”

The prophet Isaiah also reminded us, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord” (Is 55:8-9). So, he does not always immediately bring peace in the face of war, as he could, in part because he knows that people are drawn to him at such times and perhaps in part because he grants human beings the opportunity to choose to seek him and to do right versus wrong.

Human beings want peace; we want the world on our terms. The Beatle’s John Lennon wrote at least two songs about peace, one in 1969 called “Give Peace a Chance,” an anti-war statement that reads like he must have been high when he wrote it. The gibberish lyrics make no sense, but still, the phrase “Give Peace a Chance” caught on for a time. The problem is, Lennon offered no basis for accomplishing his dream, no acknowledgement of sin and evil, no way of redemption, no spiritual means of achieving peace, and certainly not achieving it on our own.

The other Lennon song about peace became his anthem and legacy. “Imagine” was released in 1971, becoming the best-selling song of his career and has now been covered by more than 200 artists.  

Why is “Imagine” so popular? Aside from its catchy tune, it’s an idealistic secularist view of the world. Anyone can embrace the song’s longings. It imagines a world without disturbance, in other words, peace. Lennon says,

“Imagine there's no heaven

It's easy if you try

No hell below us

Above us only sky

Imagine all the people living for today

Imagine there's no countries

It isn't hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for

And no religion too

Imagine all the people living life in peace”

Certainly, we can relate to John Lennon’s desire to live a life of peace, but sadly, the utopian dreams he recommends for achieving peace aren’t real. Lennon’s aspirations are spiritual dead ends. 

“John Lennon’s song Imagine is frequently used as a call for peace and unity. It’s an especially common selection in response to acts of violence.”

“Critics often note that what Lennon depicts is end-stage communism: the pursuit of which has been the cause of millions of deaths throughout history.”

Actually, “history disproves Lennon’s optimism. A denial of heaven and hell does not result in world peace—quite the opposite, in fact. The worst human atrocities—counter to the rest of Lennon’s vision, ironically—have been driven by an atheistic rejection of the afterlife and the removal of religion from society. When leaders assume there is nothing “above” man, the result is usually genocide: witness Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Pol Pot, and others who saw themselves as the highest authority.”

Hamas says they serve the Islamic conception of God, Allah. But their way of serving is anger, fear, destruction, brutality, and killing. And there is no peace.

Back to Lennon: there is a heaven, and there is a hell, and there is religion, and if properly understood in biblical terms, God has given us the prescription we need to seek peace and through his Son the Lord Jesus Christ, to experience it. 

The Prince of Peace, Immanuel “God with us,” born as the incarnated God-Man in a manger about two thousand years ago is God’s answer to mankind’s “relational dilemma,” that is, our broken relationship with God, others, and creation. Scripture says, “therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” (Rom 5:1).

Jesus Christ is the only reason we can truly live peacefully with God and in peace with others and creation.

The Prince of Peace is the reason for the season.

Jesus did not stay a baby in a manger but became the Savior whose sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection made our redemption possible, and makes peace possible.

“Jesus Christ is called the Prince of Peace because He restores every broken relationship, provides for a well-ordered and balanced life, and offers the assurance of eternal life” to all who call upon him.

Peace be with you this Christmas.

Well, we’ll see you again soon. This podcast is about Discerning What Is Best. If you find this thought-provoking and helpful, follow us on your favorite podcast platform. Download an episode for your friends. For more Christian commentary, check my website, r-e-x-m as in Martin, that’s rexmrogers.com. 

And remember, it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm.

© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2023   

*This podcast blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact me or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com/, or connect with me at www.linkedin.com/in/rexmrogers.