And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” [Luke 2]
These familiar words stir up plenty of emotion and thoughts in our hearts and minds. The stark contrasts that the Christmas story illuminates are like the chiaroscuro style of a Caravaggio painting.
The brilliant glory of God in the highest visits the ordinary, vulgar shepherds in the lowest.
The beautiful promise of peace to an earth drenched in war and conflict and terror.
Even the word “pleased” emits a contrasting tone. A loving yet holy God who is utterly displeased with the sin of our race chooses to do something drastic about it by sending his Son as the sacrificial lamb. Christ absorbs the divine displeasure while I learn that with me, God is “pleased.”
In his beloved carol, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” Charles Wesley puts to song this drastic measure of the Christmas Child coming to be crucified to secure our divine pleasure. And so, we jubilantly sing, “God and sinners reconciled.”
Hark! Peanuts style
Enjoy Wesley’s classic from Charlie Brown and his friends.
Speaking of…
Caravaggio is a seventeenth-century Italian painter who regularly utilized the chiaroscuro style of painting (which is the contrasting use of light and dark to create depth and three-dimensionality in the art). Here is his The Adoration of the Shepherds:
Dollars and sense
Without commentary:
$2,077,619,725: The total amount made in ticket sales from Taylor Swifts’ Eras Tour.
$70,000,000,000: The approximate 2023 profit amounts of the seven largest American healthcare insurers.
$765,000,000: The contract the New York Mets gave to Juan Soto to play baseball for 15 years.
$16,000,000,000 and 200 tons of gold and 5,000,000,000 euros: The net worth of deposed Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
$447,000,000,000: The net worth of Elon Musk. (Jeff Bezos is only worth a measly $250 billion :).
The days we live in
The Brits say not anymore:
England’s health secretary permanently banned puberty blockers for children under 18, extending a temporary ban that has been in place since last May. Folks on both sides are predictably reacting to the decision. Supporters of the ban are commending the moral “integrity” and those opposed are calling it “discrimination.” Will the American medical and political communities ever follow suit?
Our preoccupied teens:
Pew Research Center reports that nearly half of American teenagers say they are online almost constantly. That is quite a jump from 24% who said the same ten years ago. I am not sure this addiction is only true of teens.
Back to the UK again:
The British Parliament has passed a bill allowing terminally ill adults to be medically assisted in ending their lives. This presents both an ethical and practical conundrum that speaks to the sanctity of life and the dignity of the human person. DNR orders and giving pain relief to the suffering (i.e., palliative care) certainly are humane and caring and just. But deliberate “euthanasia” violates God’s Law and disrespects human personhood. The Archbishop of Canterbury offers wisdom to this serious issue.
Say goodbye to…
Andres Gimenez. I guess having a Gold Glove second baseman is overrated. To be (somewhat) fair, I guess the Cleveland Guardians received a decent, young starting pitcher from the Pittsburgh Pirates in the deal. But I sure enjoyed watching that guy field his position! Guardians’ pitchers will miss him too, I suspect.
Social media—at least for the teens Down Under! The Australian legislators have passed a bill that strictly regulates social media access for adolescents and children. Wow! I wonder if that could work here. Maybe even for adults. 😊
Hal Lindsey. The man who brought end-times thinking (preoccupation?) to the forefront of many American evangelicals with his books like Late, Great Planet Earth has recently passed away. Though Lindsey hailed from my alma mater (Dallas Theological Seminary), the school and most alumni have not endorsed his eschatological obsession, geo-political speculations, or his narrow Bible interpretations/applications.
If you want a good and balanced book on biblical eschatology, I’d recommend one of these:
Jesus Wins: The Good News of the End Times by Dayton Hartman
Hartman speaks with a pastor’s heart and a professor’s precision while keeping “the plain things the main things” when it comes to Jesus’ return and last things.
Three Views on the Millennium and Beyond by Darrell Bock (editor)
This book’s editor, Darrell Bock, is also from Dallas Seminary (a professor and world-respected scholar). The nature of the work has three theologians, including Dr. Craig Blaising (one of my profs back in the day), each respectfully and biblically explaining their view on the return of Christ and his coming Kingdom.
Are We Living in the Last Days?: Four Views of the Hope We Share About Revelation and Christ’s Return by Bryan Chapell
This book intrigues me, though I have not read it. Chapell is a pastor–scholar. (I use his textbook in the seminary preaching class I teach.) Chapell explains the various views on Christ’s return and corollary themes. I am confident from the reviews that this book will help the reader find strength for today and hope for tomorrow in the sure thing that unites Christians: Christ IS returning! This book will be on my to-read list.
“I am no longer my own, but thine. Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee, exalted for thee or brought low for thee. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things. to thy pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.”
[John Wesley]
