What Child Is This

But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. – Isaiah 53:5 (NRSV)

In Isaiah’s poem about the suffering servant Christians see images of Jesus the Christ. As we celebrate Christmas, do you celebrate the reason Jesus came? What was the reason Jesus arrived? What is it about this baby that you believe is a gift?

I once heard a story about a boy who stole comics from a library. His father found out what he did and together they went to the library, gave them back, and the father forced his son to apologize. On the way home the boy got a stern lecture.
That summer when they were on vacation the boy stole comics again, this time from a store. When the arrived home the father found them, confronted his son, and this time burned them in their fireplace. As the fire burned he gave his son a stern lecture.
A couple of months after that the boy stole comic books from a bookstore. This time the father said, “I am going to have to spank you because you keep doing this.” However the father didn’t want to hurt his son and after spanking him he told the boy to wait there for a lecture and think about what he did. The father went outside the room and closed the door. Loud enough for the boy to hear the father started crying. Not wanting his son to see him like that he went and washed up before he went in to lecture the boy.
Years later the boy’s mother recalled that the boy stole comic books and asked him if he stopped because his father had spanked him. “No,” he said, “I stopped because I heard dad crying after he left the room.”

The lesson the boy learned wasn’t in punishment, but in the realization that he hurt his father. Even at Christmas when we see that little baby, there is in his eyes the whole pain of the world that he will take. It is easy for us to just see a baby, but if that’s all we see we are no better than the Innkeeper who had no idea what was going on just outside his Inn. When we celebrate Christmas we are celebrating that God was willing to cry out loud instead of punish, and to be hurt instead of inflict pain. There is a lesson we can learn here, let us pray that we learn it.

With hope and joy,
Garrett

Wise and Healing Words

Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. – Proverbs 12:18 (NIV)

When have words hurt you? Do you remember who said them? When have words healed you? Do you remember who said them? When have you used reckless words? Did you want to hurt someone? When did you use your words wisely? Did it bring healing?

The following is from Rabbi Joseph Telushkin and can be found here: http://www.lukeford.net/Dennis/t4.html
Over the past decade, whenever I have lectured on the powerful, and often negative, impact of words, I have asked audiences if they can go for 24 hours without saying any unkind words about or to anybody. Invariably, a minority of listeners raise their hands signifying "yes"; some laugh; and quite a large number call out, "no!"
I respond by saying, "Those who can't answer ‘yes’ must recognize that you have a serious problem. If you cannot go for 24 hours without drinking liquor, you are addicted to alcohol. If you cannot go for 24 hours without smoking, you are addicted to nicotine. Similarly, if you can not go for 24 hours without saying unkind words about others, you have lost control of your tongue."

It is well worth our time to read the rest of the Rabbi’s article, but the point is made. Sometimes we say mean things without knowing it, we call it miscommunication, and maybe it is. Miscommunication is easy when we don’t take the time to consider a situation. Maybe that is why the proverb comments about the tongue of the wise. It is a wise person who takes the time to realize that miscommunication is possible and ensures that her words are healing no matter what, and what would the world look like if we could all control our tongues for 24 hours? Perhaps it is time to find out!

With hope and joy,
Garrett