Christmas Meditation

I was in a meeting recently where someone shared the shepherds' account from Luke chapter 2. We got to the final portion of the passage where Luke comments to his readers in verse 19 that "Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart." I had always loved that idea of Mary contemplatively pondering what had just happened and her experiences, but I hadn't thought much about the contents of what she was actually pondering. The word "these things" in the text felt really general.

One of the key concepts we try to communicate when we are teaching bible study methods is to read multiple translations. What's interesting is that looking at Luke 2 in a few English translations, this observation didn't jump out at me. My meeting was in German, and so I had a chance to look at the text with new eyes. As I read the text, I noticed that the German text said that Mary "kept these words." Just that transition from "things" to "words" got me thinking, what is it that Mary is thinking about? What is she pondering? What "words" is Luke talking about?

As I asked this question, I looked back through the passage and realized that verse 17 gives us exactly the answer to this question. The shepherds "made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child." This is to say, they made known the "words" that had been told to them about the child.

As someone who has spent a lot of time with the Christmas story, this was really powerful. I always thought the shepherds' primary role was worship, which is still really important. It is an expression of God choosing the lowly and the outsider to celebrate and worship him at his birth. But looking more closely at this text in Luke, I realized that the shepherds had a role of proclamation, as well, and not just to the surrounding villages and people to whome they were connected. The shepherds told Mary and Joseph (though Mary is highlighted in the story) a confirmation of what they both had personally experienced in dreams and angelic visits beforehand. This message from verses 10-12, that Jesus is the Christ, the son of David, the promised Messiah, that will be for all people. This is what the shepherds said. This is what Mary held onto. Even the prediction of where he would be and how they would find him. All of it was a confirmation for her, for them. God was at work; this was his doing, and he sent them unexpected messengers to complete the task. These are the words that she pondered and treasured. This thing proclaimed by angels and shepherds. 

Merry Christmas!

"For to us a child is born,

    to us a son is given,

    and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7 

Of the greatness of his government and peace

    there will be no end.

He will reign on David’s throne

    and over his kingdom,

establishing and upholding it

    with justice and righteousness

    from that time on and forever.

The zeal of the Lord Almighty

    will accomplish this."

Isaiah 9: 6 - 7

Christmas Update Video

Hey Everyone! This month, we'd like to update you with a video! Here are some highlights from what God has been doing on our home assignment thus far. Thanks for your prayers and merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Johnsons!

For this month's prayer requests and update, we have posted a video. Enjoy and merry Christmas!

Learning to Wait

Waiting is tough. When Nate and I first got married, we waited for a year until we felt it was wise to apply for missionary service, though we were eager to start. Then, we waited to get accepted. Then we spent 18 months raising support, waiting for the day when we would be ready to launch. Now that we are here in Austria, we are waiting to apply for our visas and, eventually, be able to stay here and find a place to live.  It is hard to wait.

No matter our life circumstance, we are always waiting for something. Whether it is the next stage of life, the next stage of ministry, our next competency level in German...we (especially I!) have a tendency to look forward and impatiently wait for the next phase to come. And we have many other people in our life right now that are waiting for important things - friends waiting and hoping to get pregnant, teammates waiting on important documents from the Austrian government, others waiting for acceptance letters...the list goes on. So lately, my thoughts have drifted to the idea of waiting...and what it means to wait well.

I struggle to wait, but I also believe that God does some special things in the hearts of His people when they wait. In times of waiting, we learn to trust in the Lord's timing. We learn to be patient. We are reminded that life is truly not in our control. I depend on God more when I wait then when everything "goes my way" and "according to plan".

Yesterday, we were studying Isaiah 42 in our WorldVenture team prayer time. For centuries, the Israelites were waiting for a savior to come and make things right between God and man. They heard prophesies and waited expectantly for them to be fulfilled. They also waited for the Promised Land, wandering for 40 years in the desert. How much harder must it have been for them to endure these long periods of waiting, sometimes for things that would not come to pass in their lifetime?

As I contemplate the arrival of Christ, the savior of the world, during this Christmas season, I hope I can continue to meditate on the work God is doing in my heart as I wait on Him. May I learn to trust in God's ultimate plan, rather than impatiently demanding my own. God is true to His promises and He sent His Son at just the perfect time. Our plans may not happen in my timing, but they will happen in His.

What are you waiting for? What is God doing in your heart while you wait?


 "Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
    my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my Spirit upon him;
    he will bring forth justice to the nations.
² He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,
    or make it heard in the street;
³ a bruised reed he will not break,
    and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;
    he will faithfully bring forth justice.
⁴ He will not grow faint or be discouraged
    till he has established justice in the earth;
    and the coastlands wait for his law."

- Isaiah 42:1 - 4



Photo credit: paulabflat from morguefile.com

Adventkranz - An Austrian Tradition

On Friday night, I joined about 30 women at New City Wien (a bilingual church in Vienna) for Adventkranz binden. Translated, this means "Advent wreath making". It was a fun time of meeting new people, learning about Austrian advent wreaths and getting to know the two girls I had invited better. One friend was from our German class and the other was the girlfriend of a fellow student.

Now that we have an Adventkranz at home, Nate and I will be lighting a new candle each Sunday of Advent and reading passages from the bible in English and German. We're excited to start this tradition in our family!

Verena, Dora and I working on our wreaths

Verena and I posing at the party

All of the ladies getting instructions on how to make an Adventkranz

The supplies!

My finished product

An Invitation to Breath

I just read Marshall Shelley's most recent Leadership Journal newsletter.  He was reflecting on the week between Christmas and New Years as a chance to slow down and catch a breath.  When I was working I looked forward to this week as a time when no one else would be in the office.  I was one of the few hold outs that had used all my vacation days through out the year, and I was using that uninterrupted time to sort files or take care of those things that sank at the bottom of my "To Do" list.


Life can feel like a train we got on years ago, one that has gathered momentum with every small decision. And when we reach for the break leaver, it comes apart in our hands. With the life changing steps we have taken, we have the chance to re-imagine things like this.  I get to ask the question, "How do I want to spend this week between Christmas and New Years?" I don't think I expected that preparing to serve Christ is Austria would push life so off the rails that I'd have this much of a chance to rethink how I invest my time. I am thankful for the opportunity.


What do you want for this week of quiet time?

Christmas Time

Merry Christmas!!

More than one person this year has told me they are becoming some what of a "scrooge" about Christmas. I think they have a good reason to be.

There are some things I enjoy about Christmas. My fiance's love languages include gifts, so I know that it is a time that I get to remind her that I am in fact thinking about her when she is not around. Now that I don't live at home, it is really great to spend concentrated time with my family. Travel, while stressful at times, is mostly adventurous.

But I am beginning to be overwhelmed with this nagging feeling that a solid 65% of the things that I do surrounding Christmas have little or nothing to do with the "reason for the season"... (and by typing that, I think I threw up in my mouth a little bit).

I don't think this feeling is limited to Christmas either. Bunnies and little fluffy yellow chicks have more to do with Easter than death and resurrection.

Others have felt this discontentment. They have stared movements like the advent conspiracy. While this is a great movement, I get the feeling that this can at times pull the focus of Christmas to a third meaningful, yet ancillary direction. The logic goes something like, "we want people to see Christmas as selfless, so let's pull the conversation towards redirection of funds towards social causes." While I would never say that social causes aren't important, it is also a divergence from the true nature of the season.

The center of Christmas is not anything else we have made it.
It is the irony of the incarnation, the fulfillment of promise, and it is the beginning of the end.

I guess I want a holiday or a time of year or something that will remind me of how wonderful this is and so often this holiday is about so many other things.