Author Archives: Mark Zimmermann

Here Again?!

Christmas

There is a line from a Beach Boys song that my siblings and I always laughed about growing up. The line goes, “Christmas comes this time each year.” Yes, it does. Pretty obvious, right? But with each passing year, I do have to say that I find myself a little bit surprised when December rolls around. “Here again?!” I say to myself somewhat incredulously. But the calendar does not lie, and Christmas is something that comes regardless if we are ready for it or not. Some wish it would come quicker. Some hope it comes late. But every December 25, it arrives.

The holiday itself is a symbol of Christ’s arrival in our lives each and every year. He comes to us, ready or not. He comes to us, busy or not. He comes to us, happy or not. His arrival is sometimes long-awaited and sometimes a surprise to us. No matter what is going on in your life right now, let Christmas come to you. Let its meaning sink into you. Let the Son of God born as a baby in Bethlehem warm your heart, soul and mind this time each year…and always.

Biography

biography

Today is the very last day of the church year. It also happens to land on the last day of November this year, which seems appropriate. Tomorrow is the First Sunday of Advent and the first day of the new church year. It also works out well this year that the first day of the new church year is the first day of December.

So take some time today to contemplate the meaning of the church year. It is, in a nutshell, a year-long biography of sorts of the life of Christ, and who doesn’t like a good biography? We begin with the events surrounding the birth of Christ as the Son of God (the seasons of Advent and Christmas), we follow the ministry moments in the life of Christ as he spreads the Good News of the Kingdom of God (Epiphany and Lent seasons), we ponder the Passion, death and resurrection of our Lord for our salvation (Holy Week and the Easter season), and we consider how Christ is with us in our hearts now that he has ascended into heaven (Pentecost season). But the story isn’t finished. We wait for the final chapter: Christ’s return on the Last Day to take us to heaven to be with him. There we will live happily ever after. So keep telling and retelling Christ’s biography throughout the coming church year to yourself and to others. You’ll be glad you did.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving gathering

During this Thanksgiving week, my thoughts turn to a choral piece I had the privilege of singing at a pastor’s ordination recently. The song is “Ubi Caritas.” It is a Latin work sung a cappella in four parts. Translated, the words of the first half of the composition mean, “Where charity and love are, God is there. The love of Christ has gathered us together. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

To me, that is what the focus of our Thanksgiving gatherings should be: the love of Christ. While the food preparation is important, of course, the love we share with one another through Christ should be first on any menu for the day. Rejoice in the bonds of friends and family. Be glad in the experiences we have had in unity with each other. Celebrate that the love of Christ covers over a multitude of missteps along the way. There should great joy around the tables of all who meet in the Lord’s name. Yea, Lord, let it be so.

Greetings

greeting

I have a friend who says to me almost every morning, “Greetings!” And in response, I say, “And salutations!” We laugh over the regular exchange, but it got me thinking about greetings in general and how to approach them in a Christian manner.

Paul’s epistles include many greetings in them as an example to us for how to say hello as a follower of Christ to our fellow followers of Christ. For instance, read these:

Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you. Philippians 4:21

Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas. Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. Colossians 4:14-15

All who are with me send greetings to you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Titus 3:15

Greetings are a way to encourage one another in the faith, to remind each other of the community we are a part of as Christians, and to share love and grace.

I think about this when I take my walks in the morning and pass by fellow walkers or runners. Some of them are open and ready for a “Hello,” but others are deep in thought and/or concentrating on their exercising, so are not ready for a greeting. I get it. Use discernment when there is a moment to decide whether or not to greet someone. Read the room, as they say. But at the same time be ready to say “Hello” whenever someone greets you first. Being receptive to someone reaching out to you can go a long way to introducing them to your life in Christ at some point down the road. And being respectful of a person’s privacy can go a long way, too, to build an appreciation for your quiet and non-threatening approach. You can wait until another time to talk to them. Christ, too, was silent when he needed to be, and open when it was invited or most appropriate. Let Christ guide you in your greetings (or not greeting) throughout this day.

Itineraries

itinerary

I recently read through a brochure for a guided trip through Europe, and, as is customary, each day had an itinerary. Potential travelers on this trip were given a clear idea of where they would be when and what they would expect to see at each sight. Times for traveling from one place to another, time for rest and relaxation and time for exploring on your own were also allotted.

That got me to thinking about how the Book of Acts is very much a travelogue of the four missionary journeys of St. Paul. The book provides enough details about his itineraries that we have a very clear understanding of where he went and when and what happened at each location.

Here is an example:

Then [Paul and Barnabas] passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia, and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled. And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. —Acts 14:24-27

Why are such specific itineraries of Paul’s trips included in Scripture? I think it is because Luke, the writer, wants the reader to know that these are real places that are known to many. These are not made-up tales, but actual events that happened in the life of a follower of Christ. Paul’s purpose and goal was not to sightsee, of course, but to spread the Gospel message to as many people as he could.

What does your itinerary look like this week, this month, this year? Do you have some plans in mind of where you want to be and who you want to see when you get there? What “doors of faith” do you want to open to those you visit on your journey? Let the Holy Spirit be your tour guide.

Pace Keepers

pace keeper

When I ran a half marathon in 2009, I remember that there were pace runners who were stationed at different points in the mass of participants. Their job was to maintain a certain pace for a particular group of runners who knew in general how fast (or slow) they normally run. My pace runner I watched for was the 13-minute mile runner, for instance. I was not the quickest runner, needless to say. But there were many runners who were pacing along with me and following the 13-minute pace runner as well.

The idea of pace runners and the runners that follow them came to mind for me recently when I was thinking about how each of us moves forward in faith at different rates and no rate is better or worse than another. There is no need to judge where anyone is on their faith journey. Some people like to read large sections of Scripture daily, for example, while others find it more beneficial to their souls to sit with a single verse of Scripture for awhile. Both are good ways to stay in the Word.

So find your pace of faith, look for those who are at your same pace, embrace that pace and keep at it as you “press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).

Foggy Mirror

foggy mirror

Every morning after I take a shower, my bathroom mirror is fogged up. I can see the general shape of my head, but no specific details. I often find myself combing my hair, brushing my teeth and shaving my face with my mirror still fogged up. It is not until the mirror clears up that I discover how my hair, teeth and face are actually looking that day.

The same is true for us on this side of heaven, as Scripture tells us:

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known (1 Corinthians 13:12).

Now it is like we are seeing God through a fog. We know who he is to some degree, but we are not able to see or understand everything about him. Only in heaven will we be able to see and understand God completely.

I have come to accept the reality of not knowing everything now, and I have been quick to say when there is a question I don’t know the answer to, “That’s something we’ll have to ask God in heaven.” The comfort to me is that there will come a time when all is revealed and everything is known. We will not live in the fog forever. We just need to be patient.

Candle Making

candles

I recently visited a living history farmstead that showed what life was like in Colonial days in America. One of the common household chores at the time was dipping candles. It was a laborious task that required dipping a cotton wick into a kettle of melted wax and hot water approximately 25 times to make one candle. Why go through all this work? Because candles were an absolute necessity at the time and the primary way to light a home at night.

Today we take light at night in our homes for granted, but imagine if you had worked all day making candles so you could have light at night. You would appreciate the flickering light of a candle in the darkness much more. You would be more careful with your candle use and make sure you got the most out of your time by candlelight.

God has created us to be lights in this dark world. So what should we be doing as the lights God has made? The Bible gives us some hints: We shouldn’t put our lights “under a basket” or out of sight in any way, but “on a stand,” where the light can extend to the farthest corners of the room (Matthew 5:15). Our lights should be used to help others: illuminating the words of Scripture to someone who has not read the Bible before, for instance, or guiding someone to a decision, and brightening the life of a person who is sad or lonely.

So savor your light. Use it wisely. Consider the work of the Creator. Then shine!

Look Out!

mushrooms

There have been these clusters of orange mushrooms growing at the bases of trees in and around my yard in the past month, and a wise biologist I know identified them as Jack-o’-Lantern mushrooms that form on wood near the bottoms of trees in the Midwest in the summer and fall. While these mushrooms are pretty to look at, they are actually poisonous.

I am reminded of the fruit growing on the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden. The Bible says that Eve considered the fruit “good for food” and “a delight to the eyes” (Genesis 3:6). So “she took of its fruit and ate” (Genesis 3:6). The eating of the fruit proved to be deadly to her and to Adam, who also ate, because it introduced sin into the world, and “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Like the mushrooms by my tree, the fruit was pretty but poisonous, and we wish we could have been there in the Garden of Eden to say to Eve, “Look out! Don’t eat that!”

We might consider ourselves “oaks of righteousness,“ but things that are pretty but poisonous to our souls are still trying to entice us into turning away from God. As St. Peter tells us, “Be watchful.” (1 Peter 5:8). In other words, “Look out!” Don’t let anything come between you and God.

Groanings

praying hard

The Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. Romans 8:26

Sometimes all we can muster up from within us when we pray is a sigh, a breath, a groan. But the Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit can take these sounds and make them into groanings to God that capture everything we mean to say to God the Father through them. You see, we never need to have just the right word or phrase. We don’t need to recite familiar prayers from our childhood verbatim. We should never be afraid to just come to God and moan a little over everything that is happening to us and around us. Our every utterance to God, intelligible to the world around us or not, is a prayer. And it is those deep and longing noises from within us that often say the most to God about what is going on in our lives and where we really need some critical help.

I am reminded a little in all of this of Jacob wrestling with God in the Old Testament (See Genesis 32:24.). Our moans and groans are a kind of wrestling with God over issues that are not easily resolved or very clear cut. But God does not mind wrestling with us; in fact, he wants us to be real and honest with him about how we are feeling. So let out your sorrow, your pain, your anger, your frustration in prayer. Don’t hold back. God can take it. The Spirit will express it to him fully. We will be heard and understood by God, even if it feels like no one else is getting the reason or reasons for our wrangling.

No matter how intense it gets, when we walk away from prayer, we will have the assurance from God that he is with us always and he is in the struggle with us. Christ’s moans and groans from the cross on our behalf prove that to us.