IN THE QUIET : The King

The enraged king made the decree.  Murder all the baby boys 2 and under.
A piece of the Christmas story no one talks about.

My mind is unable to move past it.  Such immense evil seems out of place among the greatest story ever told.  I'm hard pressed to recall a sermon ever given on this piece of the story.  The story of Christmas is about joy and Good News and Peace among men.

Not murderous evil.
But here it is.

Woven in this story is evil and pain and mourning; why God?

"Evil is unreasonable; therefore needs no reason."  The words spoken from my instructor in a training class not long ago.

I mull on that while thinking of the weeping cries from broken mothers rising above the Christmas story.
The weeping cries of that first Christmas...and today.

This year Christmas brings sadness, anxiety and tears for many; dare I say most.
Christmas will look different than any other before. 
Changed or cancelled traditions.
Empty tables.
Empty chairs.
Empty cupboards. 
Even loved ones nearby may experience Christmas alone.  
My heart is heavy for those; the ones I know the darkness of night holds cries in silence.

Friend, it is in the Silent Night the glory of God shown all around them.
Your sadness is as much a part of the Christmas story as the joy it heralds.
The King in the manger holds the Peace that passes over any thing a king decrees.

He is your Joy in the tears.
He is your swaddled Hope.
He is your Peace in the night.

So let your tears fall.
For The King will once again come down.
The King of kings.
The Lord of lords.
He, Beloved, He is the One who will once again come down.

And wipe each tear away.

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Matthew 2: 16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.

 

Drawers & Memories

While cleaning out my dresser, I broke my nail.    Deciding I would need the nail clippers in my nightstand, I walked over and opened the drawer. 

There it was staring at me.  My youngest son's binky.

It caught me off guard.

My youngest is 19 now.  The binky is old and well past it's prime.
Yet, all these years, I could never throw it out.

I remember the day he gave it up.  He had made the decision he was a big boy and didn't need it.

I wasn't so sure.

He loved his binky and I envisioned long sleepless nights without it; for him and for me.
I placed it in my nightstand drawer just in case.

The just-in-case never came.
Despite changing nightstands a couple of times since then, I was the one who couldn't part with it.

Funny how that works.

So tonight I sit here, a little melancholy for days gone by tucked safely in the past.
Tiny fingers have given way to man size hugs.
Strapping in car seats have given way to surprise visits at work.
Bedtime stories replaced with texts and phone calls.
The "I love you" is the same; only the voice has changed.

While it's easy to get lost in the memories of yesterday, it's a gentle reminder how much parenting evolves in every one of life's seasons.  

The season of this year looks different for all of us.
But you know what?
Some day in our tomorrows, this will be our yesterday.

And My hope tonight is simple.  May this season in this year bring warm smiles from yesterdays that light into your tomorrows.

The tomorrows wait for us.
Just like old binkies in nightstand drawers.

 

 

At His Hem

The most dangerous place to be in a pressing crowd is on the ground.  Yet, this is where she placed herself.

 

Her bleeding made her an outcast.  Desperate for healing, she suffered at the hands of others for 12 years. 
 

She didn't ask for the bleeding.
She didn't ask to be separated from family and friends.
She didn't ask to be driven away from all human contact.

 

She longed for birthday parties and celebrations.
She longed for laughter at a dinner table.
She longed for a hug...a touch of any kind.

 

She is unclean.
She is lonely.
She is desperate.

And she finds herself at the feet of Jesus in a crowd that can easily trample her.
Next to her is the synagogue leader Jairus.  He is leading Jesus to his home after pleading with Him to heal his daughter.  I imagine the fear gripping her as she hopes to go unnoticed.

There is no place more dangerous for her.

She reaches out and touches the hem of Jesus.
This is not a straight hem stitched by Singer.  No, this is the tasseled hem of Jesus's cloak.
The tassel represents the holiness and divinity of God.
Her touch of the tassel revealed what she believed Jesus to be - holy and divine.

She was immediately healed.

Friend, find yourself where you don't want to be?

Maybe you are sick in need of healing.

Maybe you are drowning in the darkness of loneliness or anxiety or depression.

Maybe you taste tears every day.

Take courage.
These trials place you at the most dangerous - and most holy - of places.

 

You are at the hem of Jesus.

Cling to it, cradle it or simply touch it.
Jesus will heal you.
Jesus will call out to you.
Jesus will honor you.

And you too will hear the words, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace."

 

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Luke 8:40-48
And as Jesus returned, the people welcomed Him, for they had all been waiting for Him. And there came a man named Jairus, and he was an official of the synagogue; and he fell at Jesus’ feet, and began to implore Him to come to his house; for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. But as He went, the crowds were pressing against Him.

And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped. And Jesus said, “Who is the one who touched Me?” And while they were all denying it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing in on You.” But Jesus said, “Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had gone out of Me.” When the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down before Him, and declared in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed. And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”