Demythologizing Esther

Esther is a great story of redemption - one that comes about in a great crisis forced upon Esther. But, we often re-tell it as a Christian fairy-tale - one that equates her beauty with goodness (just like all fairy-tales seem to do).

Of the course, the storyline framework of "pretty girl" equals the "good girl" and star of the story has all kinds of problems, especially if you think about the consequences on young girls. The truth is that Esther enters (some may read it as she is coerced into entering) a contest that is not about simply being the prettiest or with the best homemaking skills. The contest centers on a series of comparative sexual performances for the Persian monarch.

Rhythm

Sometimes the message might be when there is no message.

It is a shame Protestants, especially Evangelicals, give little thought to the liturgical seasons. The reality is that advent is four weeks of anticipation. A little four-week metaphor on longing for what has not yet happened. And, yes, it does not end with Christmas. But, for nearly 80% of the world's believers, it does not end there.

Epiphany, associated with the visit of the magi, as well as the baptism of the adult Jesus in the Jordan River by John, is on January 6. In the Orthodox tradition, Christmas falls on our calendar date January 7. But, even those are not the end.

Following in Strange Places

This is an excerpt from the Ash Wednesday sermon Stephen shared at the Hopwood Christian Church.  It is well worth taking the time to read.

Sermon: Rachel Weeping at Sandy Hook

In addition to teaching at Ozark Christian College (Joplin), I also serve as the interim pastor at the small Christian Church of Liberal (Liberal, MO).  

This Sunday, the third Sunday of Advent, my sermon addresses the apparent contradiction between the tragedy at the Sandy Hook Elementary School and the message of the Nativity.  You may download it or listen to it streaming online. 

Rachel Weeping at Sandy Hook

Pope Debunks Christmas?

Pope Benedict recently prompted blazing headlines across the front pages of America's news outlets by making what some pundants seem to imagine are shocking assertions: Jesus was not born in the year 0, he may not have been born on December 25, and there is no mention of "cattle lowing" in the Biblical narratives of the birth of Jesus.  No mention of livestock at all.  It doesn't even say that the little Lord Jesus did not cry.  Some go so far as to suggest there was no little boy playing his drum for Jesus.

Stay tuned next week for another shocking papal announcement: it has been discovered that Jesus was a Jew, we don't actually know the number or names of the Magi, and,, yes, it has also been proven that the Pope really is a Catholic.

Thanksgiving Baskets

Mrs. Miller?  Mrs. Samantha J. Miller?

Mrs. Miller, I’ve got some great news for you.  You’d better be sitting down. 

Are you sitting down?

I’ll wait.

Why Sunday Morning?

       The Lord's Day.
       For many people, it's just another way of saying Sunday.  Certainly, as scholars acknowledge, that's part of what John on Patmos or the writer of the Didache mean in using the phrase.  The first day of the week which, in typical Semitic fashion, is also the eighth day of the week.  The first and the last.
       Two reasons are noted in the ancient church to explain why this day, and not the Jewish Sabbath, became the day of gathering.

What Linus can Teach Pastors at Christmas

Violet just stared at the pathetic little tree.  “Boy, are you stupid Charlie Brown.  You were supposed to get a good tree.  Can’t you even tell a good tree from a poor tree?”

Patti gave a long sigh and shook her head, “You’re hopeless Charlie Brown.”

Then Lucy chimed in, “You’ve been dumb before, Charlie Brown.  But this time you really did it.”

Pastors know that feeling.  

Revised Reading for the 3rd Candle of Advent

The third candle of Advent, the candle for this Lord's Day, is the Candle of Joy.  The recent horror and heartache of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings prompted Stephen to rewrite it.  That revision is provided below.   Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum

Revised liturgy for the Third Candle of Advent

We have lit the first two candles, one for hope and one for peace. Today we light the third candle, the candle of joy. During Advent we remember that light came into our darkness; we remember that the God who gives life entered into our violent world of death. We remember that in the midst of her suffering and poverty, the word came to a peasant girl that God was even now making good on his promise. Because of this, we rejoice. This joy is not a pious optimism that everything is really okay. It is rather the assurance that God is not okay with the world as it is, and through Jesus, God felt the pain of the world. We rejoice now because we believe that God weeps with us so that one day we may laugh with him.

(candle lighting)

Let us Pray:
Faithful God, we live in a land of deep darkness,
and you have shone a great light on us.
Teach us to rejoice rightly in this light.
Open our eyes to the suffering of those around us,
and to the future you promise us.
Make our joy a joy that can only come from you.
Cleanse us of our sin and prepare our hearts to be transformed by you,
That we might walk in and share the light of Christ. Amen.  

-Revised by Stephen Lawson (Hopwood Christian Church, Johnson City, TN)

The Church's War on Christmas

The church waged a long and sometimes heated war on Christmas. Laws were enacted against it. Sermons were shouted against it. It was all pretty much insisting, year after year, that Christmas is a humbug and people who love Jesus ought to ignore it. Surprised?  That’s because it’s a war we lost.

Advent in the Dark

This guest post on Advent was written by Stephen Lawson for the Hopwood Christian Church (Johnson City, TN):

We are beginning to see a lot more sky around east Tennessee. The canopy of leaves, recently ablaze with reds, yellows and oranges has now largely fallen to the ground leaving limbs naked and providing us with an unobstructed vision of the blue-grey above. Perhaps it is one of God’s many small gifts to us that during the season when the sun seems to sprint from one horizon to the other we have the clearest vision of it.

At first brush, it seems strange that Advent and Christmas fall during this dark season. Why do we remember the mystery of the Incarnation, that most joyous event, when the earth is barren, dark, and cold? Doesn't summertime, with its flowering life ,seem like a better time to celebrate the birth of the life-giving Christ?