Skip to main content

To Fall


“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
    you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
    and the glory of your people Israel.”
Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” (Luke 2:29-35)

         Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. (Genesis 18:18)

          Some people would like us to believe that Paul originated the idea that the Gentile nations would be included in God’s blessing. In today’s passages, it’s clear that both Luke and Moses thought along those lines, too. They may not have understood it quite the way we do, but it was there.
          Israel was singled out before Israel was born. I’ve said before that if God had chosen another nation, like Great Britain or India, that nation would be blessed and hated as Israel has been blessed and hated. It’s God’s blessing that brings hatred, not Israel’s superiority. God moved Abram to the area and established him there – just a little off the main throughway that connected Europe, Asia, and Africa.
          And, just as God’s blessing on Israel made the other nations jealous, so God’s blessing on Jesus makes other people jealous. That’s part of the idea of the “rising and falling of many in Israel.” Either some would fall to their knees in worship while others rose up to do battle, or some would be raised up to glory while others would fall in disgrace. It all came down to the question of godhood – and not so much whether Jesus was/is God, but that we are not. The Chosen One was not the One we would have chosen.
          The Christmas holidays remind us of this. Jesus was born in a stable, which is to say, a cave, not a palace. He was raised as a carpenter’s son, not a king’s. He went to the cross, not the palace. He defeated us, not Rome. He gave us life, not conquest and power. He got it all wrong, and so right. And the question we must answer is, how will this cause us to fall and to rise?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Think About These Things

                 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8) This passage is a major challenge for me. Like everyone else, I struggle to keep my thoughts from wandering off into the weeds, then wondering what possible benefits those weeds might have… Sigh. But as a writer, I have to delve at least a little into the ignoble, wrong, impure, unlovely, and debased. After all, there’s no story if everything’s just as it should be and everyone’s happy. As Christians, there are times when we need to deal with all the negatives, but that makes it even more important that we practice turning our minds by force of attention to what is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. It’s just too easy to get stuck in a swamp. With my...
1 comment
Read more

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...
2 comments
Read more

Pure...

            The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (I Timothy 1:5)   I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:15-16) I’m probably cheating - or mishandling the Bible, but earlier I was thinking about love being pure and purifying. And hatred being pure and purifying. And anger…joy…patience… fear… jealousy… courage…lust… and other strongly felt feelings, attitudes, and beliefs. Today’s verse brings purity and love together, so it’s the verse of the day, but it’s not really the focus. That means my motive for sharing it with you probably isn’t pure. As you read through my list, you   probably thought, “Yeah” about some, and “What’s she on?” about others. But consider how much hatred, a...
Post a Comment
Read more