Mitch Lewis

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 2:13-14

Near the end of the 1965 animated classic, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Charlie Brown cries out in desperation, "Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?" Linus answers, "Sure Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about." The houselights dim and a single spotlight illuminates Linus on stage. Linus opens his mouth and begins to recite from the King James version of Luke's Gospel. I was ten years old when I first saw A Charlie Brown Christmas. Forty-three years later, Linus' simple words are still one of the most moving moments that I have experienced in any medium.

And there were in the same country shepherds, abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them! And they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 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, good will toward men. (Luke 2:8-14 KJV)

That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.

As the Peanuts gang sang in that film, "Christmas time is here." So what should we do? If Christmas is "all about" the savior born in the city of David, how should we respond? Maybe the first thing we should do is the same thing that the heavenly army of angels did when the news was announced. Maybe the first thing we should do is give glory to God in the highest.

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For Christ our Passover has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us observe the feast, not with old yeast, or with the yeast of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
1 Corinthians 5:7-8

There are many different images in the New Testament of Christ's work on the cross. One of those images is drawn from the story of the Passover, and it is particularly appropriate that we look at it today as we approach the Lord's table.

The Passover and the Exodus

We read about the institution of Passover in Exodus 12. It is part of the larger story of the Exodus, the story of God's liberating his people from Pharaoh's power and from the crushing, bitter experience of slavery they endured in Egypt. You know the story. The Lord appeared to Moses on the mountain and said:

I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. ? I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. Now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them. Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt. (Exodus 3:6-10)

Moses went to Pharaoh in the power and authority of the Lord, but Pharaoh would not let God's people go.

What we read about in the first chapters of Exodus is a war ? a war between Pharaoh and God. Moses is not so much God's general as he is God's ambassador, announcing to Pharaoh what the Lord will do next if Pharaoh does not relent. The Lord demonstrates his power in a series of plagues that befall Egypt, but Pharaoh still will not let the Israelites go. Little by little, the Lord escalates the use of force, but Pharaoh will not obey the Lord's command.

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Genesis 22:1-14

Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."
(Genesis 22:2 NIV)

Joe Versus the Volcano

In Joe versus the Volcano, Tom Hanks plays Joe Banks, an unhappy office drone whose pitiful life takes place mostly in an immense, soulless factory.? Joe?s day consists of mindlessly managing an inventory of trivial merchandise, barely connecting with his coworkers and kowtowing to a mean spirited boss. Understandably, Joe is beset with headaches and other physical complaints by living this way.

When Joe visits a doctor to seek a cure for his ailments, the doctor tells Joe that he has a brain cloud, an incurable disease that will kill him in a matter of months. Shortly after receiving the news of his impending doom, Joe is visited by Lloyd Bridges, a businessman looking for a volunteer to jump into a volcano. It seems that the businessman is trying to negotiate an mineral rights contract with the residents of the island of Waponi Woo, but all they want is someone to jump into their volcano to appease their volcano god. Bridges offers Hanks the opportunity to "live like a king, die like a man" ? however briefly.

Joe accepts the offer and suddenly finds himself spiritually liberated. He lives more courageously in every way. He is more honest and direct in his relationships with people and quickly establishes real connections with others (including three characters each played by Meg Ryan). Joe?s trip to the island is something of an Odyssey in reverse, and along the way his boat sinks. Joe survives by using his luggage as a raft.

In one very moving scene, Joe stands on the luggage, looks at the moon rising over the water and prays, ?Dear God, whose name I do not know - thank you for my life.? Somehow, this timid, sick little man who was previously filled with squashed anger and resentment now experienced overwhelming gratitude. Having survived a shipwreck, now lost at sea and clinging to a steamer trunk, on his way to jump into a volcano, Joe thanked God for his life.

Somehow, being willing to let go of your life gives it back to you in a whole new way. You let go of fear and find courage. You let go of self-preservation, and find life. I think there?s someone else I know who made that same point about 2000 years ago. Whoever wants to hold on to his life ? to cling to it ? will lose it, but whoever is willing to let go of it for my sake and for the gospel, will find it.

Human Sacrifice in the Bible

Of course the volcano worshipers of Waponi Woo are nothing but a literary device. They don?t exist anywhere except on screen. There was a time in history, however, in which human sacrifice was common. A few thousand years ago, for example, many of Israel?s neighbors practiced human sacrifice and Israel itself was sometimes tempted to adopt the practice. The Bible, however, takes a dim view of it. Israel?s temptation to follow the ways of its neighbors shows up in several places in the Old Testament.

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Lectionary - Pentecost 23B - Mark 12:38-44

The story of the widow and her mite are part of Mark's observations about the temple and the religious leadership of God's people, told in the setting of Jesus' final journey to Jerusalem.

The temple is a den of robbers instead of a house of prayer (11:15-17).

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Hundreds of Soldiers and civilians on Fort Leavenworth braved a cold north wind last Friday morning to pay tribute to Corporal David Unger, one of the 100+ U.S. service members killed in Iraq this month. CPL Unger was buried at the Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery after a funeral in the Fort Leavenworth Main Post Chapel. David had a close connection with many members of the chapel community. His mother coordinates watch care for all of the chapel congregations and activities, and long-time chapel members had often seen David in the child-watch areas of the chapel, helping to tend the children. Several of our young adults "grew up with him" through the years in the Leavenworth school system.

Despite our proximity to Kansas City, Leavenworth is really a small town with a strong sense of community, and the community turned out in force. Visitation took place at Leavenworth High School, where people stood in long lines to pay their respects to the family. Across the street, a small band of hateful protesters briefly lofted vicious signs and shouted vulgar epithets in an attempt to wound the family even more deeply. They were far outnumbered by members of the Patriot Guard Riders and local veterans groups, so that the family could be shielded from their hate.

On the day of the funeral, the people of Leavenworth lined the route from the funeral home to the gates of the fort. On post, hundreds more lined Grant and Pope avenues to honor our fallen brother. About 20 minutes before the funeral procession arrived, I walked the route from the Grant Avenue lake to the chapel, speaking to people along the way. At one point, I heard a voice say, "Chaplain Lewis, do you remember me?" I did remember her. She works on post. About this time last year, I helped notify her that her son had died in uniform at an Army post in the United States. We buried her son in the same cemetery in which CPL Unger would be laid to rest. Like David, her son had deep Leavenworth roots, having been born at the military hospital that sits between the chapel and the cemetery. Despite what must have been a painful reminder of her own loss, she stood under grey skies in the chilling breeze to comfort another grieving family.

Thank you, people of Leavenworth. Your demonstration of solidarity and respect honored CPL Unger and surrounded his family with love.

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Would you be free from the burden of sin? There's power in the blood .. in the precious blood of the lamb. Lewis E. Jones, 1899

After six months of trying ONCE AGAIN to get back on the mailing list of the United Methodist Publishing House's Circuit Rider, yesterday's mail brought success. The July/August Circuit Rider offers a very good set of articles on holy communion in a volume entitled The Feast. Several of the articles highlight a point I tried to make at the beginning of my study of David's Dance: communion need not be somber. At least one of the articles raised a more general theological issue. "This is my body given for you. This is my blood poured out for you." What are we to do with the bloody imagery, not only of communion but of the New Testament writings and the teaching of the church throughout the ages? Is it merely a relic of more primitive, blood-thirsty era? Can we wipe the blood from the communion table (and the communion ritual) and still experience God's grace there?

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