As we move through the Christmas season (yes, I’m well aware that for Christians, it’s “Advent,” but I’m focusing on everyday life in the world), I want to give thanks for a once-a-year phenomenon: you can hear the gospel preached anywhere! And that’s something to give thanks for.

June and I heard Celtic Women in concert – they’re an Irish female musical group with three singers and a fiddler. Accompanied by the Denver Symphony Orchestra, it was a great show.

But what was remarkable was what I heard during the concert. Here’s a sample:

• Joy to the world, the Lord has come!
• Glory to the newborn King!
• God and sinners reconciled.
• Christ is born in Bethlehem.
• Jesus is “the heaven-born prince of peace.”
• Jesus is “the son of righteousness.”
• Light and life to all he brings, risen with healing in his wings.
• Mild he lay his glory by. (Compare Philippians 2.5 – 8)
• Born that men no more may die.
• Born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth.
• King forever, ceasing never over us all to reign.

In short, people paid real money to hear the gospel! Sure, there were sentimental Christmas themes mixed in and a bit of Santa Claus, but the truth was there for the hearing, and for that I give thanks.

What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, (Philippians 1.18, ESV)

It’s after Thanksgiving, but we can still give thanks, yes? The Thanksgiving blog quoted Psalm 136, which opens with:

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. (ESV)

Psalm 138 opens with thanksgiving:

I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise; I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word. On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased. (Psalm 138.1 – 3, ESV)

“You have exalted above all things your name and your word.” If that’s the case, best we spend time in the word and honor it, along with God’s name.

May the glory of your name be the center on which our lives turn. (Lord’s Prayer, Matthew 6.9, TPT)

Psalm 138 closes with this promise:

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me. The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands. (Psalm 138.7, 8, ESV)

God preserves me in the midst of trouble – he doesn’t promise that I’ll never have trouble.

Finally, “The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me.” God fulfills his purpose for me, I don’t fulfill my purpose for him.

Here’s an example in the Christmas story:

And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1.38, ESV)

One more observation about angels from Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth.

Here’s Gabriel’s appearance to Mary:

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary…And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God…For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. (Luke 1.26, 27, 34, 35, 38, ESV)

And now the angels’ message to the shepherds:

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them…And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord…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!” When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” (Luke 2.8 – 15, ESV)

Did you see it?

• “And the angel departed from her.”
• “When the angels went away from them…”

Messenger angels don’t hang around. They deliver the message and leave. We’d like them to hang around, yes? Explain the message in more detail. Maybe provide visible protection for us while we carry out the message.

Even the angel who rescued Peter didn’t hang around to tell Peter what to do:

Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands. And the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. (Acts 12.6 – 11, ESV)

Most of our lives are lived “in the ordinary,” not the spectacular, and if an angel does appear or we have a definite experience with God, it’s likely to be short-lived. As Eugene Peterson entitled his book which we used for our meditations on the Psalms of Ascent, it’s not the spectacular, it’s

A long obedience in the same direction.

Luke continues his “orderly account:”

In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. (Luke 1.5, ESV)

C.S. Lewis* points out that the gospels are not written as myth but as eyewitness accounts of history. This isn’t “once upon a time,” but “In the days of Herod, king of Judea,…” Zechariah comes from a particular line, as does Elizabeth. Real people. Real history.

Zechariah receives the announcement from the angel Gabriel, but he doesn’t believe:

And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” (Luke 1.18 – 20, ESV)

How shall I know? You want a sign, I’ll give you a sign. You’ll be mute…

Gabriel is mentioned by name only four times in the Bible:

When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought to understand it. And behold, there stood before me one having the appearance of a man. And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, and it called, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” So he came near where I stood. And when he came, I was frightened and fell on my face. But he said to me, “Understand, O son of man, that the vision is for the time of the end.” (Daniel 8.15 – 17, ESV)

While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before the LORD my God for the holy hill of my God, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice. He made me understand, speaking with me and saying, “O Daniel, I have now come out to give you insight and understanding. (Daniel 9.20, 21, ESV)

He appears to Daniel and now, Zechariah, and also to Mary.

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. (Luke 1.26, 27, ESV)

Just four. The only time he said, “I am Gabriel” was in talking with Zechariah. In Daniel 8, God called his name. In Daniel 9, Daniel recognized him from before. In his appearance to Mary, Luke says it was Gabriel. Maybe when Mary went to visit Zechariah and Elizabeth, they compared notes.

Daniel said that Gabriel came to him “in swift flight.” Maybe this is where we get the concept of flying angels. The best summary of his identity and mission is the Zechariah appearance:

I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.

Gabriel is a messenger angel.

How quickly we forget about the angels. I wrote last year about an angel finding a missing portfolio for us. That blog includes this paragraph from Brad East:

[We need to] bite the bullet and proclaim, fingers uncrossed, that God works signs and wonders in the world today, just as he did in the times and stories of Holy Scripture. In this view, angels intervene in mortal affairs; demons assault and possess unsuspecting sinners; terminal illnesses are healed by divine miracle; young men see visions; and old men dream dreams (Acts 2:17). None of these things ever ceased. Christians in the West merely lost the desire or ability to see them. – Brad East, emphasis mine

Lord, don’t let me miss you at work in the world. Thank you for all the protection that I don’t even know about. One day, I want to talk with the angel you have assigned to me. The way I drive, I’m sure he’s worked overtime!

Are they not all [angels] ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? (Hebrews 1.14, ESV)

*C.S. Lewis’ observations on the literary style of the Gospels are recorded in Between Heaven and Hell by Peter Kreeft.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9.6, ESV)

O come, Desire of nations, bind
in one the hearts of all mankind.
Bid all our sad divisions cease
and be yourself our King of Peace. – from O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

As we move through Advent and finish up our reading of the psalms, I’m going to move slowly through the Advent narrative in Luke, as well. I love the opening, which ties in with yesterday’s theme: God is real, and he acts.

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught. (Luke 1.1 – 4, ESV)

Key concepts:

• “Eyewitnesses”
• “An orderly account”
• “That you may have certainty”

It’s become fashionable to treat the gospels as a myth, to not believe Jesus was a real historical figure. I just read Between Heaven and Hell, a book constructed around the beliefs of John Kennedy (humanist), CS Lewis (Christian) and Aldous Huxley (eastern pantheism). They died within hours of each other November 22, 1963, and the book imagines a 3-way conversation in some sort of afterlife. CS Lewis’ arguments defeated them both, proving, as much as one can, that Jesus is real and God in the flesh. For example, here’s a snippet of an exchange between Lewis and Kennedy:

Lewis: Either Jesus is God or a bad man. He is not a bad man. Therefore, he is God. Then we explained and expanded the argument by classifying people and defining sages. The second form of the argument was this: First premise: Jesus is a sage, and therefore trustable. Second premise: He claimed to be God. The premises are true.

Kennedy: Both those premises seem to be true.

Lewis: Then the only question remaining is the logic of the argument. Is there any fallacy in arguing that if what trustable people say is true, and if this trustable person said he was God, then he was God? (page 66, 67)

Peter, one of the eyewitnesses, nailed it:

For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. (2 Peter 1.16 – 18, ESV)

We closed out the Psalms of Ascent with Psalm 134 – Blessing, and we pick up the same theme with Psalm 135, which starts and ends:

Praise the LORD! Praise the name of the LORD, give praise, O servants of the LORD, who stand in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our God! Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good; sing to his name, for it is pleasant! For the LORD has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel as his own possession. (Psalm 135.1 – 4, ESV)

…

O house of Israel, bless the LORD! O house of Aaron, bless the LORD! O house of Levi, bless the LORD! You who fear the LORD, bless the LORD! Blessed be the LORD from Zion, he who dwells in Jerusalem! Praise the LORD! (Psalm 135.19 – 21, ESV)

Why? Why praise the LORD and bless the LORD? Because he acts:

Whatever the LORD pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps. (verse 6)

• Struck down the firstborn of Egypt (verses 8, 9)
• Struck down kings so that Israel could possess the land (verses 10 – 12)

What’s the alternative to a God who acts?

The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; they have eyes, but do not see; they have ears, but do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouths. Those who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them. (Psalm 135.15 – 18, ESV)

Compare Artificial Intelligence (AI). It’s all the rage. It appears to speak. The #1 hit songs, both Christian and secular are purely AI-generated. It has appeal, apparently, but I agree with Christian singer Forrest Frank:

At minimum, AI does not have the Holy Spirit inside of it. So I think that it’s really weird to be opening up your spirit to something that has no spirit.

I think we’ll find that “Those who make them become like them.” Can’t speak, can’t see, can’t hear.

We are already into Advent Season. Celebrating the coming of the God who is real and who acts. More on that tomorrow.

We’ve come to the last of the 15 Psalms of Ascent:

• Come, bless GOD, all you servants of GOD! You priests of GOD, posted to the nightwatch in GOD’s shrine,
• Lift your praising hands to the Holy Place, and bless GOD.
• In turn, may GOD of Zion bless you— GOD who made heaven and earth! (Psalm 134.1 – 3, MSG)

Eugene Peterson opens his commentary on Psalm 134 with the observation that often people work really hard for a particular goal, and when they achieve it, they find it’s not fulfilling. The life of faith and discipleship is NOT such an unfulfilling journey. He writes:

Psalm 134, the final Song of Ascents, provides the evidence. The way of discipleship that begins in an act of repentance (tĕshubah) concludes in a life of praise (bĕrakah). It doesn’t take long to find the key word and controlling thought in the psalm: bless God, bless God, God bless you.

The text says, “Lift your praising hands to the Holy Place, and bless God.”

We’re quick to lift our hands to our favorite sports teams. Some of us don’t do such a good job lifting hands to GOD. And Peterson reminds us that we are called to bless God whether we feel like it or not.

Peterson ends his meditation by reminding us that the Westminster Catechism reminds us that “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.” Expanding:

A fitting ending. 15 Psalms of Ascent. Here are the first 14:

• Psalm 120 – Repentance
• Psalm 121 – Providence
• Psalm 122 – Worship
• Psalm 123 – Service
• Psalm 124 – Help
• Psalm 125 – Security
• Psalm 126 – Joy
• Psalm 127 – Work
• Psalm 128 – Happiness
• Psalm 129 – Perseverance
• Psalm 130 – Hope
• Psalm 131 – Humility
• Psalm 132 – Obedience
• Psalm 133 – Community

We come to Psalm 133, which I’ve always thought of as the “Unity Psalm.”

How wonderful, how beautiful, when brothers and sisters get along! It’s like costly anointing oil flowing down head and beard, Flowing down Aaron’s beard, flowing down the collar of his priestly robes. It’s like the dew on Mount Hermon flowing down the slopes of Zion. Yes, that’s where GOD commands the blessing, ordains eternal life. (MSG)

Peterson calls it Community and talks about one’s participation (or not) in a local church.

But real community in a local church context is difficult. Peterson describes what sometimes happens – I see this phenomenon particularly in some larger churches and even smaller churches who take their cues from the large churches:

Another common way to avoid community is to turn the church into an institution. In this way people are treated not on the basis of personal relationships but in terms of impersonal functions. Goals are set that will catch the imagination of the largest numbers of people; structures are developed that will accomplish the goal through planning and organization. Organizational planning and institutional goals become the criteria by which the community is defined and evaluated. In the process the church becomes less and less a community, that is, people who pay attention to each other, “brothers and sisters,” and more and more a collectivism of “contributing units.”

The key to community (and unity!) is love. JD Walt wrote recently, meditating on Jesus’ prayer as recorded in John 17:

I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. (John 17.20, 21, ESV)

Back to JD Walt. He observed:

I think what I am trying to say is if we focus on unity, we often get disagreement, but if we focus on love, we will get unity. 

That’s a good word:

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13.34, 35, ESV)

We move to Psalm 132, which opens:

O GOD, remember David, remember all his troubles! And remember how he promised GOD, made a vow to the Strong God of Jacob, “I’m not going home, and I’m not going to bed, I’m not going to sleep, not even take time to rest, Until I find a home for GOD, a house for the Strong God of Jacob.” (Psalm 132.1 – 5, MSG)

It’s a “don’t follow-your-heart” example, where even though David’s heart was in the right place, he was not the one to build the temple. I wrote about this last year. Instead of God’s allowing David to build God a house, God, instead declared that he would build David’s house. Psalm 132 speaks of this promise:

GOD gave David his word, he won’t back out on this promise: “One of your sons I will set on your throne; If your sons stay true to my Covenant and learn to live the way I teach them, Their sons will continue the line— always a son to sit on your throne. Yes—I, GOD, chose Zion, the place I wanted for my shrine; This will always be my home; this is what I want, and I’m here for good. I’ll shower blessings on the pilgrims who come here, and give supper to those who arrive hungry; I’ll dress my priests in salvation clothes; the holy people will sing their hearts out! Oh, I’ll make the place radiant for David! I’ll fill it with light for my anointed! (Psalm 132.11 – 17, MSG)

We’ve been using Eugene Peterson’s A Long Obedience in the Same Direction as our guide for these Psalms of Ascent. In nearly every case, Peterson has expanded on my observations and deepened my understanding. In this case, however, we didn’t see quite the same thing.

He sees the psalm’s opening as David’s bringing the Ark back to Israel as recorded in 1 Chronicles 13 – 15 and writes:

It is a psalm of David’s obedience, of “how he promised GOD, made a vow to the Strong God of Jacob.” The psalm shows obedience as a lively, adventurous response of faith that is rooted in historical fact and reaches into a promised hope.

Either way, obedience is not a bad theme. In my interpretation, David was obedient in NOT building the temple, while providing materials for Solomon’s eventual success. In Peterson’s version, David obediently brought the Ark back to Jerusalem.

In either case, we have to recall something from Israel’s history. The psalm doesn’t review that history, it merely alludes to it expecting the reader to know. The challenge then is that to be obedient we must REMEMBER. My friend Mike Metzger just published a piece last week that’s worth the read: If you stop remembering, you forget!

Peterson writes:

This history is important, for without it we are at the mercy of whims. Memory is a databank we use to evaluate our position and make decisions. With a biblical memory we have two thousand years of experience from which to make the off-the-cuff responses that are required each day in the life of faith.

Another good reason to stay in the Word!

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. (James 1.22, ESV)

The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. (Deuteronomy 29.29, ESV)