Christmas

The Scandal of Love

Love came down and walked on earth.

Have you seen him?

Love was wrapped in a virgin birth.

Have you known him?

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Broken.  Dying.  Stealing.  Lying.

Corrupt and needy.  Weak and greedy.

Love came here.

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In weakness he was clothed.

Unheard of!

And took weakness as his betrothed.

Scandalous!

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Have you heard this scandal of love?

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To a bleeding, fallen world

he was sent

to bleed for paupers and prisoners.

His life was spent

to rescue the sinful, selfish soul.

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Have you heard the scandal of love?

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The king who spoke and galaxies formed

lay in the straw that first Christmas morn.

Infinite love met finite flesh,

cried as a babe, walked to his death.

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Have you heard the scandal of love?

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“Impossible!” you say.  “Insulting! A disgrace!”

Yes.  All scandals are.

But the shame that love bore

was both mine and yours.

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The insult was for you,

the disgrace for me.

For love came to set us free.

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Perhaps this is too much.

Perhaps over this you stumble.

But perhaps love is a lion,

and perhaps love is humble.

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The Star

The star shone cold and clear,

winking on the desert plain.

Just another night.  No special sight.

Shepherds, sheep . . . bed down to sleep.

Herod, covered by his palace and power,

his fear in his tower, pays no notice.

It’s a single star shining amidst an eternity.

Just another night.  No special sight.

A king, a birth . . . but nothing of worth.

A thousand miles east, magi feast on the sky,

a scroll to the eye so versed.

The star sings the coronation of a king,

“Come and see!  Come and see!”

The star still shines.

But to those trapped in their delights,

it’s just another night.  No special sight.

Sellers, buyers . . . pursuing their desires.

So few hear the song

and come to see  

the worth of the king

and love bound in broken flesh.

Such a wondrous night.  A special sight.

Meekness, glory . . . wrapped in one story.

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Christmas or christmas

At Christmas the world changed.  At Christmas God became man.  At Christmas God so loved the world that He gave His son.  Christmas is, after all, a love story.

If Christmas is true, then your king and mine was born in a stable.  If Christmas is true, then Jesus is the center of everything.  If Christmas is true, then the only appropriate response is to bow and worship. 

But this world doesn’t want to bow and worship, so it ignores the central fact of Christmas and celebrates instead its own christmas. 

You and I are then left with Christmas or christmas.  Both holidays are present simultaneously.  Everywhere you look you see christmas, for it shouts and presses itself forward with a marketing campaign any corporation would envy. 

But Christmas is quiet, like a starry night outside Bethlehem.  Christmas stills your soul.  Christmas points you beyond christmas.  Christmas opens your heart to the love of God.  Christmas is far more wondrous than the marketing campaign, for Christmas reveals the astounding humility and grace of God. 

The holiday of christmas changes the season by plastering on thick makeup.  But Christmas changes the heart . . . forever.

Have a Merry Christmas. 

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