Read: Isaiah 9:6-7, Luke 2:8-20

One of my favorite Christmas carols is “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” which is based on a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  You can watch a powerful rendition by Casting Crowns.

A year after his wife died tragically in a fire in 1861, Longfellow wrote: “How inexpressibly sad are all holidays. Better leave them wrapped in silence. Perhaps someday God will give me peace.”   Then just three short years later in 1864, he got word that his oldest son was severely wounded in the Civil War.  That following Christmas Day, Wordsworth penned the poem “Christmas Bells” which was later set to music.

The poem & song speak of hearing church bells on Christmas Day repeat the carol of “Peace on Earth, Good Will to men”.  But then we read / sing the poignant words from Wadsworth’s heart in the second stanza: “‘In despair I bowed my head, there is no peace on earth’ I said.  ‘For hate is strong and mocks the song of Peace on Earth and Good Will to Men.’ ”

Perhaps as you read this, like Wadsworth, the holidays are inexpressibly sad.  Maybe not inexpressibly but they are bittersweet for me as its the first Christmas without my mom.  And whether you have experienced tragic loss like Wadsworth or not, I’m sure if we are honest that we all can relate to the assessment of ‘there is no peace on earth’.  Hate is strong in our world and mocks the song sung by the angels that first Christmas morning.  Where is this good will among the human race?  We are hard pressed to find a place one earth where conflict and unrest does not reign.  No one on earth is immune to it.  War creates pain, death, loss, and separation.  It leaves behind widows, orphans and ravages our earth.  But not just on the evening news do we see unrest.  It’s in our neighborhoods, our workplace, under our roofs and even among the fellowship of believers.  We are not at peace.  Where is this promised peace on earth?  I thought He was to be the Prince of Peace.

The carol doesn’t end that there.  “The bells ring more loud and deep, ‘God is not dead nor does He sleep.  The wrong shall fail and the right prevail’ ”.  His kingdom will come.  One day soon the world will revolve from night to day.  One day soon oppression, injustice, pain, anger, unrest, bitterness and arguing will cease.  One day the weapons of warfare will be refashioned into implements that bring a harvest to the nations.  But even right now He wants this kingdom of peace to come to our hearts and homes, to our churches, to our communities and our world.  The kingdom that He brings is a kingdom of peace.  He gives us peace, not as the world falsely offers. Our hope is in Messiah Jesus, the Prince of Peace.  It is a peace that surpasses understanding.   He calls us to follow Him in the work for bringing the peace of His Kingdom and, as far as its possible, to be at peace with everyone on earth.

“I pray (this Christmas Season) that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”  – Romans 15:13

We have two manger scenes sitting out in our home.  Both are from Mexico.  I think I bought the second one forgetting I already had the first, but they are dissimilar enough that it looks okay.  As I look at them, I can’t help but smile and think of when Luke was really small how he made baby Jesus a superhero flying around the room.

Our manager scenes have all the necessary ingredients – baby Jesus in a manger, Mary, Joseph, Shepherds, animals and one has wise men (even though the magi probably showed up at a later time).  But one thing they both lack…. poop.

I mean if there were animals there, there would be poop… dung… feces… cow patties… manger muffins.  And if enough people were in town to bring out the ‘no vacancy’ sign at the local inn, there would have been tons of poop.

Seems to me its significant that Jesus was born in a place with a lot of stinky poop because He came to take away our poop.

You have to understand poop is a popular topic in our house of boys.  Robin is very gracious and let’s them … er us… be boys.   Poop was the first word both Jack and Drew learned to spell.  It makes them all smile and giggle.  Cleaning poop has been a part of our lives for 8 1/2 years now.  We can’t escape it.

And I can’t escape it in my life.  I have poop.  I sin. I do things I shouldn’t.  I think things I shouldn’t.  I get angry.  I’m selfish.  I’m stubborn.  I’m greedy.  I waste a lot… a lot of time, money, stuff… things that could be used to make the world less poopy.

I have poop.   You have poop.  All God’s children have poop.  Poop happens.  There is no way to escape it. Our dung-heap is high and stinks.

Sometimes our poop gets out of control.  Unsafe drinking water.  Hungry children.  Families wrecked. Disease and death.  Abuse.  Loneliness. Despair.

Jesus entered into the world of poop.   He enters our poop.  He takes it away.  He came to rid the world of poop…. to wipe it clean.

Tonight I shared this with my boys at the dinner table. (Normally poopy talk is off-limits at the table but Robin gave that rule a break tonight.) And so afterwards we added poop (in the form of chocolate chips) to each of our manager scenes.   And maybe on Christmas morning, we will eat the chocolate ‘poop’ chips.

She came.  She plead.  She begged.  She cried.  Jesus seemed to ignore her.  Strange.  Not what I expect.  Does he look the other way?  Does he shut his ears to her cries? The disciples urged Jesus to send her away. Her begging is driving us mad.  Get rid of her.  Make her stop. Let’s face it, when someone is begging like crazy, its a little uncomfortable.   It’s not proper.  It seems out of order or uncouth.  Even when I respond to beggars, I respond out of frustration, not compassion.  Just stop bothering me!

Jesus finally seemed to wake up.  He told her that she wasn’t in his target audience.  Sorry.  Move along now. Next. But instead of leaving, she worships.  (Though I am not sure when I think of worship I think of begging & pleading all the more.) “Lord, help me!”  Desperation.

“It isn’t right to take bread out my children’s hands and toss it to the dogs.”   “Charity begins at home. I have to feed my children first.  You are foreigner.  You are of a different race, a different religion. You are probably poor and dirty too.” I can hear the disciples’ say: “Thank you, Jesus!”

But she doesn’t go.  Is she crazy?  But where else would she go?  What would she do?  ”Yes, but even the dogs are allowed to eat the leftovers.”   “I just want your leftovers, your miraculous crumbs, a small portion of your great mercy and power.  I have no hope if you don’t respond.  It’s hopeless without you.  Please. It’s my daughter whom I love.  She needs rescuing.” Jesus responds.  He praises her faith.  Immediately the girl is set free.  Rescued.  Restored.

I am heading out this afternoon for a 4 day trip to Mexico City.  Along with five others from the Boulder area, I will attend a joint US-Mexico Human Trafficking event and then visit those we are collabrating with in ending this tragedy.  Our desire is to come alongside them in this effort, to encourage them and to help bring about his mercy and justice.  At the congressional event, we will help tell the story using media.  My microleanding minsitry, Sekepe, is helping partner in a bakery where rescued girls will work and learn cooking/business skills.  So I am also bringing down our intial loan for this project.

And most of all, we also will spend time with ‘Syrophoenician women’ who plead for kids who are being tormented day and night by evil.  They cry for kids who are like daughters to them even if they are unknown.  They need his mircaculous crumbs of mercy as evil has a stronghold in the form of a heavily armed cartel.

Perhaps some may say its a distraction.  Not really what should be about.  Why leave your family for a week? Take care of your own.  Maybe they think the time, money and effort come be spent on a ‘higher calling’.

Maybe some only see this issue strategically. How it opens doors for proclamation. But Jesus didn’t deliver her daughter from evil so that he could be known throughout Tyre or even Syria or Greece.   In fact, he left this town and went up the coast to Sidon right after this.  Jesus acts because he cares.  He is moved by her faith that is shown through persistant desperate prayer.   It’s not a tactic to him.  It’s a person in need.

Lord let your crumbs fall… let the crumbs of your mercy, power and justice fall to those on the outside.  Those trapped by evil.  They who need rescuing.  Children.  Little boys and girls.  Precious to you.  Lord, let me be shameless in pleading for your mercy and justice.  May I  be about setting captives free.  May we be about seeing your Kingdom come, your will be done here on this planet as it is in heaven.

Maybe the greatest miracle is not that Jesus fed 5000 men - not counting women & children - with a small boy’s picnic lunch.  But maybe its that he welcomed 5000+ when he really wanted to be alone.   When you are grieving as Jesus was, you are not looking to deal with a crowd of people demanding your time.  You want quiet… a retreat… solitude.    You are in a funk and need to just emote.

But Jesus has compassion on these shepherdless people.  He took time to stop and teach them and heal their sicknesses.  It wasn’t a convenient time.  Surely they would have understood if He had said, “Guys look I just lost someone I care about.  Can you give me a little space?  How about coming back next week? ”   He feeds them….  miraculously….  and feeds his disciples who had not eaten either.   He cares. He meets needs.  He minsters.

When they had left, when they disciples were in a boat on the lake, then Jesus went up into the hills to be alone.  Then he took care of himself.

There are a lot of people hurting.  Multitudes in need.  Many hungry.  Many sick.  Many in need of understanding.  Many in need of a miracle.  Many like sheep without a shepherd.  Jesus cares.  Jesus ministers even when its not convenient.  Jesus responds to crowds differently.  Jesus is moved with compassion.  (And if you read on in John’s account these people really didn’t care about him even though He cared about them.  They just saw Jesus was a free meal ticket like a big Genie or something. Hmmm sounds too familiar.)

Tomorrow and the rest of the week, I will be among crowds.  I will be in airports and in one of the largest cities in the world.  May I see individuals and not crowds.  May I be moved by compassion.  May I take time to minister and not be caught up in myself.

I wanted to start us off by sharing a passage about justice.  I felt we needed to just pause and remember why we do what we do.  You know there is easy to get our motives twisted because there are a lot of payoffs for a church in Boulder to be involved – its fun to do it with other churches, it makes Christianity look cool & hip, this issue touches people’s hearts and pocketbooks if you know what I mean, it provides opportunities for people to get involved...  But the real reason we should want to be involved is because its the right thing to do.  It is loving our neighbor in need.  it is a God-thing because He loves justice and mercy.  And there are little kids all over the world who are being abused and need to be rescued & restored.

I hadn’t  decided to which verse to pick on God’s heart for justice.  Just that morning thought of a few and decided that the last two verses of Psalm 10 might be appropriate.  As I got ready to read it,  felt I should just read the whole Psalm for context.  You know its like reading one line of a poem and not getting the full meaning of the author.  I hadn’t read the whole chapter in a while and was amazed at how appropriate it fit the context.

I encourage you to read it with me and think of a little girl – imagine a sweet innocent face – being tricked by a predator perhaps by a promise of a better life.  A little girl – maybe orphaned, certainly vulnerable – being taken captive.  Maybe she’s in mexico.  Maybe she’s in Thailand.  She could be Russian, Chinese or even a little American girl in your own town.  Now she is being used an instrument of vile, gain counted not even as a life by her traffickers.  Her little body being abused over and over again.  She is tramped, helpless.  Innocence is shattered.   Imagine her calling out in despiration for help.  Maybe she doesn’t even know there is a powerful God who hears, who cares – the one who is a helper of the fatherless.  As we read it, let’s join in the call for God to arise and make things right… to see His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Psalm 10

Why, O LORD, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises.  He boasts of the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD. In his pride the wicked does not seek him;  in all his thoughts there is no room for God.  His ways are always prosperous; he is haughty and your laws are far from him;  he sneers at all his enemies.  He says to himself, “Nothing will shake me; I’ll always be happy and never have trouble.”  His mouth is full of curses and lies and threats;  trouble and evil are under his tongue.

He lies in wait near the villages; from ambush he murders the innocent, watching in secret for his victims. He lies in wait like a lion in cover; he lies in wait to catch the helpless; he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.  His victims are crushed, they collapse;  they fall under his strength. He says to himself, “God has forgotten; he covers his face and never sees.”

Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless. Why does the wicked man revile God? Why does he say to himself,  ”He won’t call me to account”?  But you, O God, do see trouble and grief;  you consider it to take it in hand.  The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless.

Break the arm of the wicked and evil man; call him to account for his wickedness that would not be found out.

The LORD is King for ever and ever; the nations will perish from his land. You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.

Death, cruel death.  This enemy, this curse, separates loved ones.  It creates pain and suffering.  It evokes grief and sorrow.  It devastates.   It destroys.  We can try to deny it.  We can try to ignore it.  We can try to tempt its fate.  We can become numb to it when we read the headlines or see a movie where lives are wasted left and right.   But there is no denying.  We are live in its cross-hairs. The clock is ticking.  One day when we least expect it, we will face death.  Maybe today.  We know this.  We see it when we look in the mirror.  We don’t want to think about it.  But we know it.

Death should not be.  It is wrong.  It was not God’s plan.  There once was no death.  There was no pain, no suffering, no separation. Death entered the world with its twin – sin.    And how painful & cruel  the first death must have been for Adam & Eve who not only lost a child but a a child murdered by the hands of their only other child.

But yet though we all face it – generation after generation – in every place on the planet –  death is sure to lose .  The creator came.  He to save us all from this common enemy.  He looked death in the face.  He experienced  its pain.  He took on death.  Then… He defeated death.  He conquered it.  He arose. He took away its power.   He gave life in its place.

And this is not just some wish or a blissful thought that we try to envision to numb the pain of death.  Its not some fairytale.  More than five hundred were eyewitnesses to this firstfruit victory.

One day this reality will be fully revealed.  Now I see through a dark glass.  Then I will fully understand.  We will shout in victory:  “Death, you slime, you have been swallowed up!  Game over – you lose.   Hey Death, where’s your victory?  Come on now.  Where, tell me where, O Death is your sting?” One day.  The last enemy to be destroyed will be Death.

There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.  He will make everything new!  Death will experience death. How ironic is that!

And yet right now, I – we, all of us on planet earth - still face this enemy.  We still feel its sting.  Even in a sure victory, we still live under its curse.  We still grieve.  We still know its pain and the hole it creates in our lives.  But the paradox is that this future is also a reality.  Death has no more power.   I don’t have to fear death.

I hurt, but I have hope.

In Matthew 25, Jesus gives that famous theology-rockin’ passage of separating the sheep and the goats based on how they responded to the least of these my brothers & sisters.  It’s in the feeding the hunger, giving water to the thirsty, clothing the naked, providing shelter to the homeless, ministering to the sick and visiting the prisoner that we meet Jesus and in turn receive the reward of entering into his Kingdom.  Parenthetically when we don’t do these things, we are cast out of his presence.  Paired with other passages found in James and I John will rock your theology!  …Hopefully.

This past week in the South African township of Nellamapius working with Beam Africa Network, our team has encountered Jesus.   Because kids are in school  (its winter here) our mornings are filled with going into the community and visiting people in their homes.   People either live in 1 bedroom cement block homes and tin shacks called Makukus.  The Makukus are often have no electricity or running water and are 1-room homes in that everything – kitchen, sitting area, bedroom are all one room smaller than most bedrooms in America.

The people are always at home because unemployment may be as high as 80% in the townships.  One family I visited had several generations living in the homes and surrounding makukus all trying to survive on just the granny’s pension.  It barely covers the rent, electricity and water bills.  We have come across sick because they can’t afford the clinic (or it has no medicine).  And since they can’t afford the clinic, the are still sick or injured.  And since they are injured or sick, they can’t work.  And since they can’t work, they can’t afford the clinic.  Do you sense the despair?

But the worst….  the most grievous, the most painful, the most unjust situation I have seen I first saw on Thursday.  A widow and her two children were living on the outskirts of Nellmapius on a farm.   Her husband had been a worker for this white farmer.   He died after being gored by a bull.  They live (if I can call it living) in a depapillated farm house with a partial roof.  There is no electricity.  There is no water.  There is no toilet.  They have to walk several kilometers to a river to bath or go to the toilet.  or they go in yard as it reeked of fowl odors.  The widow can’t work because she has arthritis.  She can’t get assistance for medicine.  The officials give her once look over and deem her not sick enough for aid.  She has nothing.  She has no kitchen.  She has no food.

But the worst is this cruel farmer.  His farm is surrounded by similar shacks.   He does not pay his workers.  He cares more for his cows than these people.  It is inhumane.  He is ruthless.  He is oppressing them.  He would force this woman off his land but she has no where to go and who would live in this ‘building’ anyway.

I had so much rage when I saw this condition.  This women is the six-fold least of these.  She has them all.  I had just led our team that morning to look at Jeremiah 22 where God condemns a king who did the same thing.  He compares this cruel king to his father Josiah who did what was right and just, who cares for the poor and the widows.  God himself says: “Is this not what it means to know me!”   But he pronounced judgment on the cruel king that he will die with no one mourning his death and his very body will be drugged outside the city like a dead ass.

Yesterday, we delivered a food parcel to this family.  It is still very small.  They will die unless this condition changes.  The red-tape of government and the racist hate of the landlord stand against her.  Beam Africa will continue to stand on her behalf.  To help her with relief and fight with her until change happens.  I don’t know what it will take perhaps the equivalent of 60 minutes needs to expose this to the nation and shame others into action.

I have resolved that I will not leave this when I return in a few days.  I can’t leave this from my mind.   I will cry out to the Righteous Father on her behalf.  I will be like the persistent widow in Luke 18.  I will not stop until this prisoner has been set free.

This is not meant to be a political statement but I do think its interesting that only Jane Norton gave anything significant.  Norton averaged giving 10-21% of the income while Buck gave 0.01 to 4 %.  And Buck would come across as a philanthropist compared to the other side of the aisle.  Romanoff rarely reported any charitable giving on his income tax returns in past years and paltry claims when he did.   He says he gave to charity but it didn’t exceed the standard deductions.  (That would make sense if he was single but just means to me that he didn’t give that much.) But Sen. Bennett takes the cake.  One year he made $6.5 million in income and gave $624 in contributions.  The next year, his ‘generosity’ increased as he reported $5.3 million adjusted income and $1,910 in charitable giving.  So he barely based  met the national average of $1620.  But if you made 5.3 million, it seems like you are making way more than the average person.   His average would be like me givign $3 in one year and $15 in the next.  That’s absolutely embarrassing!

What dies this mean?  Of course, we are not required to give.  We live in a free country.  And these stats would have remained private except its news as they are running for public office.  (Or if like those running for Governor of Colorado, they had refused to share them.)

But to me its sad.  What kind of person repeatedly turns their back on those in need or non-profits that help those in need?   Where are we as a nation if our  leaders don’t have generous hearts?  Do we want to be a nation of people who take or give?  A generous heart is a heart of compassion.  A heart that looks on others and not yourself.  It evokes not just petty alms but giving sacrificially.  It’s a heart that bleeds rather than hands that are tight-fisted.  We need leaders to set the example.

I am reminded of Jeremiah 22 where God gives a judgment against evil leaders. One king was greedy building spacious palaces with large windows and cedar paneling.  He was exploiting workers in the process of his home improvement too.  God said:  ”Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar?  Did not your father (King Josiah) have food and drink? He did what was right and just, so all went well with him.  He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?”

Its not what you have… money, the ability to make money, position, palaces, title, power – that makes you a real leader.  It’s what you do for those in need.  Its by reaching down to help lift others help that you become a real leader.  Notice that when Josiah did those things, he had all he needed (food and drink) and all went well.  And to top it off, God says that this what it means to know me.  And that’s life and the ultimate even more than having enough and things going well.

You can see all the updates on iEmpathize’s blog.  (Note the upload may take a while, but worth the wait.) When Brad was at the safe home for the  shoot yesterday, I was mediating on Psalm 68:6.  Seems appropriate:

God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.
But he makes the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

Blessed are they who maintain justice, who constantly do what is right. – Psalm 106:3

Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice  - Psalm 112:5

From this footage, Brad will create an iEmpathize experience solely around this issue in Mexico.  And then we will use this tool to tell the story and help raise resources both in US and Mexico to help set more captives free.  My hope is that there will be a string of safe houses around Mexico helping young women and children experience restoration and wholeness.  Actually, ultimately, I long for the day where there is no need of safe-homes because Jesus has made all things right… that things are on earth as they are in heaven.

Look God’s home is among His people!  He will live with them, and they will be His people.  God himself will be with them.  He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more sorrow or crying or pain.  All these things are gone forever.  And the One sitting on the throne said, ‘Look I am making everything new!’ – Revelation 21:5

Until that day may we have the heart that God has.  May our hearts be broken for the things that break His heart.  May we desire to set captives free – not just a transformation of knowledge – but a real freedom, a transformation of soul.   A deliverance from the enemy.  A new life.  A new hope.