Christmas in Galatians

Christmas in July is in full swing this week. It's one of those made up holidays that originated at a girls camp in North Carolina in 1933. It has become kind of a big deal over the last few years – and a great reason for shopping centers, strip malls, and online retailers to have mid-summer sales. Even the White House is planning a Christmas in July event. So why not the church? 

For the last few years we have celebrated Christmas in July at our church on the last Sunday of the month. Everyone seems to enjoy the wonderful worship, festive fellowship, and of course, the christmas cookies. (We also try to have a canned food drive for the local food pantry.)

Additionally, this year we find ourselves smack dab in the middle of the book of Galatians in our Adult Bible Class. Just in time for Christmas. Why do I say that? Because when you open up your Bible to Galatians chapter 4, what you find is the Apostle Paul's celebration of Christmas.

Now of course, Christmas as a festival came much later for the early church. Easter was the first great festival of the church accompanied by the first Christian creed, “Christ is Risen”, which was soon followed by “Jesus is Lord”. Only later did the early believers begin wondering about the details surrounding Jesus' birth. Of utmost significance to them was the suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ – as it still should be for us today.

But Christmas is still wonderful – and full of wonder as well. That's why the Apostle Paul gives us this radiant passage in Galatians 4 to illuminate us with the Christmas Gospel. “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying 'Abba Father!' So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”

We don't get much Christmas in the Epistles. There is Philippians 2 where Jesus is “born in the image of men”, and Colossians 1 and 2, where in Him “the fullness of God dwells bodily”. But there isn't much else. And aside from Luke 2, there isn't much in the Gospels either. Half a chapter in Matthew 1 and that's about it. But here Paul give us the whole enchilada in just 4 short verses. The mystery and majesty of the incarnation of the Son of God wrapped up into a single package. And guess what? It's got your name on it! Because what God has done my sending His own Son is for you – all for you.

In the fullness of time. What a captivating phrase. It has always been a fascinating idea to me - that Almighty God in His infinite wisdom looked down upon the sons of Adam and daughters of Eve, and as executive director and producer of the entire cosmos, orchestrated everything just so that when the time was right, He sent forth His own Son, to be born of a virgin, to live a perfect life, die a sacrificial death, and rise victoriously from the grave for us and for all.

Talk about mind blowing. That's the kind of thing that can keep you up at night pondering all of the perplexities and intricacies therein. But fortunately for us (and for everyone else) we're not in charge of ruling the universe. Our Three-in-One God has that under control, thank you very much. And because the Son was born under the law to redeem those under the law, we can now have peace with God the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” - Romans 5

We have peace and joy because we are now sons and daughters of God who are able to call out to Him, “Abba, Father!” No longer slaves, but sons, and if sons, then heirs of heaven.

All that's left for us to do is the same thing we do when receiving a Christmas present. Smile and say thank you. Or as Martin Luther put it – thank, praise, serve, and obey - this is most certainly true.

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CS Lewis and the Return of the British Open

"The longest way round is the shortest way home."

The Open Championship (or British Open) is one of the four major tournaments in golf and is one of the largest sporting events in the world. It is being held this week at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland - the first time this event has been back in Ireland for nearly 70 years. So what does this have to do with CS Lewis?

Lewis was born and raised in and around Belfast, Ireland. He and his family would often take family vacations to Portrush and the surrounding area, just over an hour away. There were beaches, an amusement park, natural attractions, and yes, even a castle. Just the place for a little boy with a fertile imagination.

One of the main natural attractions in the area is the Giants Causeway - a series of hexagonal rock formations which are the result of ancient volcanic activity. Of course, the Irish have a different story. They say that the causeway was formed by a scuffle between two giants who once lived there. Perhaps this was the place Lewis was thinking of when he wrote about the giant’s territory of Harfang in the Silver Chair.

Dunluce Castle is not far away - sitting high atop a cliff overlooking the Irish Sea. Although now it is just a skeleton of its former self, it is still a majestic sight on the rugged coast. It must have made quite an impression on little Jack when he saw it for the first time as a child. Many believe that this castle was the inspiration for his royal city of Cair Paravel in the Chronicles of Narnia books.

In Narnia, the castle also happens to be right on the edge of the sea. After ruling there during the Golden Age of Narnia, the four Pevensie children return when called back by Prince Caspian. Upon their return the castle is overgrown and in ruins, a mere semblance of what it once had been, but still standing and still evocative.

The Open Championship returns to Ireland this week for the first time since 1951. What else happened that year? Prince Caspian was published as the second book of the Chronicles of Narnia series, which tells about the ruins of Cair Paravel, inspired by Dunluce Castle.

We often think of CS Lewis as an Englishman since he lived and taught in Cambridge and Oxford. That is of course true in part. But he always remained an Irishman at heart, returning to his home country nearly every summer for a holiday by the sea.

These brief times of joy for Lewis would anticipate and finally culminate in that final journey home to Aslan's country, which for him was only the beginning of the real story. All his life in this world and all his adventures had only been the cover and  title page. Now at last he was beginning chapter one of the Great Story, which no one on earth has read, which goes on forever, in which every chapter is better than the one before.