Mary

 I was pleased when I saw that Netflix was offering a new movie about Mary for the Christmas season.  Her story is one of the most beautiful, best known, and most celebrated in all of history. 

 Both Luke (chapters 1-2) and Matthew (chapters 1-2) record the extraordinary events surrounding the birth of Jesus.  Mary is the most likely source for this information.  Most scholars are agreed that Mary was a young woman when she gave birth to Jesus, perhaps no more than a teenager.  All evidence indicates that she lived a number of years after Jesus’ death. 

 Matthew, as one of the 12, would have been well acquainted with Mary. Luke tells us that he conducted careful research and personal interviews with eyewitnesses. (Luke 1:1-4).  Mary would have been an essential eyewitness. When we read Luke 2, the words reflect the personal touch and feel of one who was there, one who experienced what no one else has ever seen or felt:  the announcement by the angel Gabriel, the visit with her mother’s cousin, Elizabeth; the misunderstanding and confusion concerning her pregnancy; Joseph’s courageous decision to marry her;  the long journey to Bethlehem in obedience to Roman law; the birth in a stable followed by extraordinary visitors: shepherds from the nearby fields and astronomers from the East.  Afterward the couple present an offering in the temple, all they can afford, a simple pair of doves.  They are astounded by the prophecies of Simeon and Anna who recognize the child as the Messiah.  Joseph is warned in a dream to depart for Egypt before Herod unleashes his rage on the infants of Bethlehem in response to the Magi’s message.

 So, we sat down the other night, signed in, and watched Mary with anticipation.  But the writers of the Netflix version went beyond elaboration into the realm of fantasy.  They created an entire prequel regarding Mary’s parents including multiple appearances of the angel Gabriel and Lucifer.  They invented a story about Anna the prophetess and Mary’s childhood in the temple. Some elements of the movie left me shaking my head.  Mary and Joseph riding to Bethlehem in a horse-drawn wagon? Galloping across the desert on a stallion?  And Joseph, a common worker in a stone quarry fighting his way through a fiery battle against Roman soldiers?  What happened to the carpenter from Nazareth?

 I am afraid that our theatrical fantasies have caused us to lose touch with reality.  We have a tendency to confuse historically authenticated records with Marvel super-heroes and imaginary worlds. 

 I am all for using imagination to try to grasp the reality of the incarnation.  I thought The Chosen did a good job of helping us see the 12 disciples as real people living in an extraordinary moment.  I even attempted to do the same in my novel, We Beheld His Glory.  But our understanding of what occurred on the earth 2100 years ago must remain true to the documents produced by those who were there.

 This coming week we will remember that one life that changed the world.  We will celebrate with lights and singing and gift-giving.  The reality of God’s intervention into our world through His Son is the most important event in human history.  Jesus’ birth, His sinless life, sacrificial death and resurrection from the dead changed everything! 

Making Life Meaningful

 Ever since 1988 when Tom Hanks starred in Big, we have enjoyed his acting career.  Forest Gump, Castaway, Saving Private Ryan, A Man Called Otto.  To name a few.   Whenever a new Tom Hanks movie is released, we want to see it, or at least, check it out. So, we went to see Here, his newest movie released in October starring Hanks and Robin Wright who played Jenny in Forest Gump.

 As usual, we were late comers.  The movie had been out several weeks before we found a day and time that worked for us.  When we arrived, the fact that there were only 7 people in the theater should have been a clue.   Despite impressive technical effects, Here has apparently been a Box Office bomb.

 The story line focuses on a particular spot on the earth, “Here,” and all that happened on that spot including a Native American couple who fell in love, had children, grew old and died.  The same can be said for other families that occupied the house built on that spot. Each of them, falling in love in their youth, having children, settling for jobs to make a living, growing old and dying. The stories are told in a non-linear script, with constant flashbacks, and flash-forwards. But in the end the stories are all the same.  When I left the theater, I felt depressed.

 Is this all there is to life? Disappointment, misunderstandings, unrealized dreams, constant struggle to make ends meet, old age, illness and death?  Perhaps this is the way most people live.  I hope not.

 Six years ago, for our 50^th anniversary, I wrote “Our Story” for our children and grandchildren.  We realized that our children and grandchildren know their stories that intersect with ours, but, by and large, they did not know “our story.”  It was a good exercise in reflection.  At the conclusion, after 50 years of marriage and more than 70 years of life, we wrote, “God has blessed us beyond our wildest dreams and imaginings. We have loved and enjoyed one another every step of the way. He has blessed us with beautiful children and grandchildren of character and faith. They are kind, thoughtful, honest and generous.” Other friends with whom we started our journey more than fifty years ago could say the same.

 Jesus teaches us all how to make something special out of our lives by forgiving, encouraging and believing in one another.  He teaches us to live our lives with a focus on something more than “getting by” or “making a living.”  Just as Peter wrote,  ^“For you have been born again not of seed which is perishable, but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. For, ‘all flesh is like grass, and all its glory is like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls off, but the word of the Lord endures forever.’” (1 Peter 1:23-25).

 Jesus’ promise is ever true. “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you,” (Matthew 6:33).  “The Lord is good. His lovingkindness is everlasting and his faithfulness to all generations,” (Psalm 100:5).

White Space

 Life starts out fairly simple.  When my wife and I married we could, quite literally, pack all our possessions in the back seat of our car.  But along the way, we picked up clutter.  The closets and attic overflow. Once, I rented a storage unit so she could get her car in the garage.   “Stuff” seemed to multiply.  It filled every nook and cranny.  It is hard to throw it away.  Worn out baby shoes, broken toys and scribbled scraps of paper represent my life.

 The calendar is the same.  Business, or “busy-ness,” claims every minute. Millions start the day with a swig of coffee while they maneuver onto the freeway munching a breakfast burrito.  Memos, phone calls, meetings and long hours on our feet are followed by a weary commute home to pick up kids for practice sessions.  No wonder we are exhausted. 

 Christians are especially vulnerable. Richard Foster wrote, “We are trapped in a rat race, not just of acquiring money, but also of meeting family and business obligations. We pant through an endless series of appointments and duties. This problem is especially acute for those who want to do what is right. With frantic fidelity we respond to all calls to service, distressingly unable to distinguish the voice of Christ from that of human manipulators."

 We need white space!

 Look at Google’s homepage.  Google keeps it simple.  We need to learn how to live Google lives, with plenty of white space, space in our lives that gives us freedom.  We need deliverance from crammed calendars and cluttered closets. 

 It takes discipline to create white space, room for flexibility and freedom, margins in which to breathe.  Jesus knew how to order life with “white space.”  He took time to listen to children, to help a desperate woman who risked touching his garment, to heal a paralytic passed over by the crowd.  He had time for people.   When he died, his robe was his only possession.  He never punched a time clock.  He did not wear a watch. He was never rushed or in a hurry. 

 It is entirely possible that, with our breakneck race to “get somewhere” that we might end up “nowhere.”  Jesus said, “… you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.” (Luke 10:41-42). 

 And again, ““For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. ... And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.” (Luke 12:22-30).