One of my greatest joys these days is my dog, Brandy. She is a 16 month-old Irish Setter. The fact that I have an Irish Setter is not a reflection of my background or my experience as a church planting missionary in Cork, Ireland. I grew up with “Casey,” an Irish Setter. After a long, and often tragic, run of Labs and Spaniels I had the opportunity to go back to my roots and get another Setter.
You may have noticed the first person singular pronouns, “I” and “my.” This is because three years ago my wife, Karen, said, “no more dogs.” She loves dogs, but was unwilling to deal with another dog with cancer or dog hit by a car... So Brandy is my dog!
On more than one occasion in the past year I found myself defending Brandy by saying, “that’s what dogs do.” I said this after the dog chewed the carpet, the leg of a chair and Karen’s eyeglasses. This seemed like a reasonable response until the dog ate one of my favorite baseball caps. Karen interrupted my rant by reminding me, “that’s what dogs do!”
The same principle has helped me cope with some of the extreme responses to Christmas. Our sermons this autumn have focused on “the Real Jesus.” By “Real” I mean the Jesus of the Gospels and Epistles as compared to the world’s understanding or approach to Jesus.
For some people, Jesus is 8.6oz baby Jesus. For others, He is the consummate best friend. For some people, He is a defender of the weak. For some church folk, He is the bloody and suffering Savior on the cross. For still others, He is nearly angelic, soft and beloved by children. For Johnny Cash, Jesus is “the greatest cowboy of them all.”
On the other hand, the Jesus of the Bible is the exalted King of Kings. He is God. He is Creator. He is light. He is life. He is Redeemer. He was not recognized by the world.
So, the next time you are witness to an extreme or hostile view of Christmas, in your spirit say, “that is what the world does.” The world does not recognize Jesus.
Save your energy, compose yourself and share with the people in your world the difference Jesus, Immanuel, God with Us, has made in your life.
It is hard to handle a dog eating your favorite hat. But “that’s what dogs do.” It is even harder to handle people taking a stand against a sacred holiday, but “that’s what the world does.”
Go into your world being available, prepared and expecting to be God’s agent. You will not be disappointed!
