Sealed with Glitter

"Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit..." Ephesians 1:13b

Sealed with Glitter
By Rev. William Dohle

It's Christmas time, that time of year that we celebrate with items made by little hands by little children.  It's a time to celebrate the little letters that spell "I love you"...and it's a time for my least favorite part of Christmas...glitter!

Of all the inventions we have, glitter I think is my least favorite one of them all.  Even how we apply it freaks me out.  First you take some glue and smear it all over your paper.  Then you take the glitter and dump it on the glue.  And then you take the paper and dump the glitter off of it.  If you do this right, the excess glitter will go back in the container while pieces of it remain on your paper.

That's how it's suppose to work in theory.  In practice?  Well, first the glitter gets all over the place right from the start.  Then you dump a little too much on and get it on the table.  Then the excess stuff never magically lands back in its container.  In the end, even the glitter that lands on the glue itself doesn't stay for long and will soon land up somplace in your house where you don't really want it to be.

That's glitter for you.  It's not good sealing material.

And yet... our kids spend their time and energy and, most of all, their love glittering their "I love you's" to us, as if their cards and hearts are bound by glitter.  And we, loving parents that we are, see past the potential mess to see the love they have in their hearts.

Glitter may not be good binding material.  But we have something more binding than anything.  Something that, in the end, binds us to God.  It's not so glittery or even nice to look at, but it does last forever.  In the end, what binds us to God is the blood of Jesus Christ.

Blood has always been used as a sealer of covenants.  We speak of something being "written in blood" or "signed in blood" as somehow being binding regardless of circumstances.  Well... that's the way it's always been!

The first covenant to be bound this way was with Abraham who, in circumcision, wore the mark and scar of the bound covenant on him.  The second covenant to be bound by blood is this one from Exodus.

"Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls , and the other half he sprinkled on the altar.  Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people.  They responded, "We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey."(Ex. 24:6-7)

This is no glittery binding.  By the blood, the people are bound to obey the Lord and the Lord is bound to care for his people.  That's the way covenants work.  Each side promises to fulfill their part of the contract.

In Jesus, we are brought into a new covenant.  By HIS blood, we are sealed to God.  As the writer of Hebrews says:

"The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean.  How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God.  FOR THIS REASON Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance."(Hebrews 9:13-15 emphasis added)

Christ's blood is stronger than glitter.  It's stronger even than the blood of the old covenant, for through him our consciences are cleansed so we can serve the living God.

This is the new covenant we Christians celebrate.  This covenant isn't dependent upon us.  We cannot seal it ourselves.  It is given to us by God.  A gift given in Jesus Christ.  By his blood, the covenant between us and God is sealed and we are God's, able now to "serve the living God" as the writer of Hebrew's declares.

This isn't a covenant that changes or falls away.  It isn't as fragile as glitter which flakes away the moment you touch it.  This covenant, given to us by God in Jesus Christ, lasts forever.

Remember that this Christmas as you open glittery gifts that will fade away.  Glitter may not seal well.  But the blood of Jesus Christ seals us to God forever.

Help me see, Lord, through this transient life, the eternal love and bond you have with us.  Help me see, through Jesus' blood, our relationship is secure.  Amen.

Doing What He Said

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.  James 1:22

Doing What He Said
By Rev. William Dohle

I have a confession.  I didn't really realize what having a 12 year old meant and what this gate into the teenage years would look like. Not really...

For years I have counseled and led kids through this gate in Confirmation.  I've met kids in their tween years and walked through the gates until they were teenagers.  I've seen kids grow up and become able adults.  I've watched them change from their childish ways into the ways of being an adult.  I always saw a difference come to life within them, but I never really realized what it was.  Until now.

My oldest son, William, is in the middle of his 13th year of life(he's 12) and it's scary.  It's scary how grown up he looks...but how vulnerable he is.  It's scary how far into the future he must look...preparing in school for college and beyond.  It's scary how he hears and understands everything you say now.

But what's really scary is how he really doesn't take us, his parents, seriously.  Not anymore...

For instance... we tell him to do something.  Say... take out the garbage.  That is one of his many chores at home.  He responds: "Yes, of course..." and then goes into the other room and does something else.  We follow him in the other room to remind him and he says,"Oh you wanted me to do it now?" We respond yes... and he still doesn't do it.  Finally comes the time of consequence, where groundings occur in our home and phones get taken away.  THEN he does it(sometimes in a mad huff), storming out of the house.

Is that what all teenagers are like?  Am I going to be seriously scared when the younger ones get to be this age?

I've always dreamed my kids would be different.  They, more than anyone else, would know what gentle obedience looks like.  My dream was for them to be like the people of Israel were, back on Mount Sinai.

The people of Israel then, after they heard the law spoken and after Moses relayed what God had told them to do, had the chance to respond.  And the people of Israel responded with one voice:

"Everything the Lord has said we will do."(Exodus 24:3)

 Now that's significant in and of itself...but what's more significant is that they responded like that twice, as if to confirm what they had already said...

"We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey." (Exodus 24:7)

Wow!  What would that be like!?  To ask for something to be done and hear, not complaints or excuses or cries or even silence, but to hear: "Yes, Dad!" And to see it done!  Wouldn't that be great!

Of course the follow through isn't there for my son and wasn't there for the people of Israel.  Following this, the people of Israel strayed and disobeyed, one time after another.  The first disobedience was with a golden calf...but that we will look at later.  For now we see their heads are in the game.  Their hearts were not.
 
The same could be said of us too.  Even the most religious of us stray and fail.  We claim to be people of grace...but find judgement to be so easy.  We claim to love one another...but there's a few people we'd rather have nothing to do with.  We claim to want what God wants...but really we want God to want what we want.  Not the other way around.

We are a flawed, messed up group of people.  We are, in our hearts, just teenagers in older bodies.

Forgiveness is what we need, for our motivation is lacking and our vision blurred.  We fail to see why God would want us to do what he has commanded.  We sit on our couches, daring God to come make us change and make us grow.  We know what we should do, but we just don't do it.

For this we cry: Lord forgive us!  Motivate us to get off our rumps and follow, doing what you have commanded us to do, loving who you have commanded us to love, and following after you, not just because you say so, but because we love you!
 
I am too quick, Lord, to say I will when I really don't mean it.  Help me to bring my words and thoughts and actions in line with you.  Amen. 

Lengthening the Holy Days

"Three times a year you are to celebrate a festival to me."  Exodus 23:14

Lengthening the Holy Days
By Rev. William Dohle

Well, the Christmas season is upon us.

As much as I've wanted to crawl in a hole and hide from the holiday season, it's here!  Again!  And it's early this year I think.  This year I saw my first Christmas commercial at the beginning of October and already my dear wife has begun watching The Hallmark Channel's Christmas specials.  (12 specials for 6 weeks!)  Already tears have been shed over one sweet story or another.  And already(and I do mean already) the Christmas gifts have been bought for the children and all is prepared.  (Yes, you read that right).

For all the fuss we make over Christmas, it's amazing how fast the holiday truly goes.  We spend two to three months getting everything ready.  The presents get bought.  The tree comes out.  The lights go up.  The candy and cookies are bought.  All is prepared for a holiday that lasts...

Just...  One... Day.

That's right.  Just one day.  For most of us anyway.  Most of us will spend the our time on the front end of the holiday, getting everything ready for the big December 25th day.  And then, once everything is unwrapped and eaten, we'll be as quick as can be to get it all taken down and boxed away for another year.

It's sad how long our holidays last.  They usually only last a day.  No more.

Even the 4th of July lasts longer than Christmas sometimes I think, with parades in the morning, barbeque in the afternoons, and fireworks in the evening.

But where does this all come from?  Where do our holidays originate from?

The first mention of a holiday, or Holy Day if you want to parse it out, comes from the book of Exodus.  Here the people of Israel are instructed to have three festivals.

"Three times a year you are to celebrate a festival to me."  And how long are they to be?  Well, in the center of Exodus we only have details of one.  "Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you."  This festival, known as the Passover or Seder, lasts seven days.

The Bible here doesn't go into detail of the rest, but I can say from watching my Jewish friends, that their holidays last a whole lot longer than ours.

Hanaukkah, the festival of lights coming about at the end of the month, lasts 8 days.
The Season of Rosh Hashanna lasts 8 days.
The Festival of Tabernacles lasts another 8 days.

There are others...but these are the most well known ones.

And notice how long they last!?  8 days!  These people of God do not just celebrate for a single hour or even a single day, but an entire week!  8 days is the usual time they spend in holiday dedicated to God!  That's some celebration!

The Christian church tries to extend the celebrating some.  Christmas doesn't last just one day, but twelve.  The season of lent, a time of personal reflection leading up to Holy Week, lasts 40 days.  And the celebration of Easter resurrection takes the cake at a whopping 50 day celebration!

Imagine if we actually celebrated this long.  Imagine if we paced ourselves and instead of using all of our good will on one day(or even on the days leading up to that one day) we used it instead on a whole season from that day on.  What would our lives be if the holidays weren't just one day...but many?

God invites us here to do just that.  To make the celebration last.  God invites us here to extend our festivals whenever and wherever we can, to pause before we take down our Christmas tree after the holiday and just enjoy the season for what it is, and to realize, ultimately, the only thing we have with each other is time.  That time will never come again.

This Christmas stop.  Just stop.  Treasure the moments between each of the gifts opened.  Look deeply in the eyes of your loved ones.  Cherish the smiles and the laughter and the life you see reflected back at you.  Christmas 2013 will never come again.  All you will have to remember it is your memories and the pictures you take.  So cherish it, extend it, and enjoy it, for that is what God would have you do.

May God bless your preparations for Christmas.  May God help you get all ready for the first day.  And may God help you extend your celebrations to the whole Christmas season.

God, you invite us to celebrate and party like no other god can.  Give us grace that we may relax and enjoy the season as we celebrate the birth of your Son.  Amen.