Christmas Card Redux

Background:

As I was handing out my 2008 Christmas card this season, I had several people comment that they still had my Christmas cards from past years. Many have asked me to reprint my very popular 2006 card, so with the last gasp of 2008, I will bow to the will of the people. I offer my apologies to Clement Moore, and his original A Visit from St. Nicholas. Clement Moore made millions from his “little trifle”; I’m still waiting for MY royalty checks to start rolling in.

 

Christmas Card 2006:

'Twas the Night Before Christmas
(or A Visit from St. Ewe-pea-ess)
by David Alan Hoag - December 18, 2006 

'Twas the night before Christmas, and I was upset;
though I’d ordered nice presents, none had arrived yet.
All of the web sites said, “delivery was free,”
in time to be wrapped, and placed under the tree. 

The children had reluctantly all gone to bed,
while a vision of ‘no gifts’ soon filled me with dread.
And my wife, in the bedroom, was starting to bawl,
“we’d have all the gifts, if I’d shopped at the mall.” 

When far down the street, there came a faint growling,
At first, all I heard was the stormy wind howling.
“Light flurries,” predicted by some weather wizard,
had turned into the season’s worst winter blizzard. 

The moon was obscured by the wind-driven snow,
and the streetlights emitted a pitiful glow,
when, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
but a UPS truck, moving slow, in first gear. 

The driver was quite skilled, and this much I know,
He knew how to plow through the new-fallen snow.
How in that blizzard, he could find my address,
made me think that his truck had a new GPS. 

The camera, the X-Box, and with any luck,
the new Elmo X-treme would be on his truck!
So many gifts, for delivery this season,
That this truck had them all, was far beyond reason! 

Turning into my driveway, spewing snow in his wake,
I was praying the driver must know how to brake,
But I needn’t have worried, he slid to a halt,
and jumped down from his truck with a well-practiced vault. 

He was wiry and lean, quite a pleasant young chap,
dressed in UPS brown, from his slacks, to his cap.
He checked his list twice, and I knew when he waved,
that he had all my parcels, that Christmas was saved. 

He spoke as he worked, as he got my stuff out,
“All these THINGS are NOT… what this season’s about.
The greatest delivery is a small baby boy,
and if you accept him, you get peace… love… and joy.” 

Then he sprang to his truck, put the engine in gear,
And drove off in the storm, without any fear.
But I heard him exclaim, 'ere he drove out of sight,
"May your ways be made straight, and your burdens be light!" 

"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

All the best in the coming year! Your brother in Christ,

Dave

With Angelic Hosts Proclaim…

I was listening to a Christmas carol today, and I thought about how little I understood of the true meaning of the words when I sang the carol as a child… or even as a young man. The carol, “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”, is pretty familiar to most of us, but I’m going to include it here anyway (at least the first verse). Just see if you can read it without the melody making you sing it. 

Hark the herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!

Peace on earth and mercy mild

God and sinners reconciled"

Joyful, all ye nations rise

Join the triumph of the skies

With angelic hosts proclaim:

"Christ is born in Bethlehem"

Hark! The herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!"

 

An interesting aside is that this Christmas carol was written by Charles Wesley, brother of John Wesley, founder of the Methodist church, in 1739. A somber man, he requested slow and solemn music for his lyrics and thus “Hark the herald Angels Sing” was sung to a different tune initially. Over a hundred years later Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) composed a cantata in 1840 to commemorate Johann Gutenberg's invention of the printing press. English musician William H. Cummings adapted Mendelssohn’s music to fit the lyrics of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”, already written by Wesley.

When I was a kid, I thought the angel’s were all named Harold… thus, “the Harold angels sing.” The Michael and the Fred angels didn’t make the cut, I guessed. Later, I came to understand these angels to be kind of like celestial town criers… proclaiming the fantastic news. And it must have seemed utterly fantastic to the shepherds who were among the very first to hear the angels proclaim the good news. I mean, it’s pitch-dark, the shepherds are out in the fields with their flocks, and this incredibly powerful heavenly creature appears! And the first words the angel speaks? “Do not be afraid.” Yeah… like that’s gonna help. Shock and awe! But the angel certainly had the shepherd’s attention, and they did listen and hear:

“I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the city of Bethlehem a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Luke 2:10-12

As if that were not enough, the one (very terrifying) angel (see Luke 2:9), was suddenly joined by what the Bible calls “a great company of the heavenly host.” Now, if a host is an army… and we are talking about God’s army of angels… I would guess that there were a whole lot of angels that filled the sky. And they were not content to just hover there; they began to praise God, saying:

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

Luke 2:14

 

When half a bazillion angels appeared and began to praise God, I’m betting the sky was a terrifying sight, the sound was overwhelming, and the ground was probably shaking from the force of their combined heavenly voices. The shepherds were thinking: “Do not be afraid. Yea… RIGHT!”

After the angels finally left and went back to heaven, it was probably a while before the shepherds regained enough composure to talk about what had just happened. They were probably all like: “Did you see that?” Were we dreaming?” “What just happened?” But they figured that Bethlehem was pretty close by, so they all went off to see this great thing that had just happened. How could they know what it was? They weren’t scholars, or scribes, or rabbis, or prophets, or wise men… they were simple shepherds… but they recognized that God had invited them to some great happening, so off they went to see.

What an amazing night for those shepherds. When they got to Bethlehem, they found everything just as it was told to them concerning the child. Their hearts leapt for joy, and they spread the word; they shared their great joy with everybody they came in contact with, and they glorified and praised God.

God has already done the angel thing, so don’t expect it this Christmas Eve. You have, however, been given the “good news of great joy,” as it was given for ALL people. Have you dropped what you were doing, and gone to see the Savior? Are you spreading the word? Are you glorifying and praising God?

Think about this: We will have peace on earth, when God’s favor rests on all of us!” (See Luke 2:14) This will only occur when all of us come… and have our hearts changed… at the manger!

To all of you, I wish a merry Christmas, and proclaim:

“Glory to the newborn King!”

Your brother in Christ,

Dave

A Christmas Card for You

Many years ago, I started my own little Christmas tradition: making and personally handing out my own Christmas card creations. If you’ve known me for more than one Christmas, then you have probably received a card from me. This year, I’m extending the tradition into a new medium… the blog. Basically, you are getting the content of this year’s card here in the blog. I hope you enjoy it. Oh, by the way, if you want the Word document for the card so you can print out one for yourself, just drop me an email, and I’ll honor any requests for the digital image of the card. Just print it on your own printer, fold it, and place it on display for your friends to admire. LOL!!! Alright then… here’s the card to start your Christmas:

What can I say about Christmas?

By David Alan Hoag (written December 13th, 2008)

What can I say about Christmas?
That hasn’t already been said?
Yet, why should a wonderful
Magical day
Approach with foreboding and dread?

Perhaps it’s the rat’s nest of tangled-up lights?
To be hung from the rooftop with care?
Is there stress while replacing
A shorted-out bulb,
As I hang thirty feet in the air?

What of the fruitcake from sweet old Aunt Hazel?
Which, this year, she’s selling online.
Does she know that I’m lying?
While choking it down,
When I smile, and claim it’s divine?

With each Christmas card I receive in the mail
I predict with a terrible hunch
That the letter included
Will tell me too much
Of your details of breakfast and lunch.

Oh, Christmas is coming; that terrible strain,
I stress-out and get all light-heady.
And I’ve still got tree trimming,
And cards yet to mail!
How can it be coming already?

That Christmas is hectic? Well what else is new?
But we’ve made it all stressful and wild.
With each new decoration
And hurried event,
We lose sight of the birth of the Child.

What can I say about Christmas?
That isn’t just more window dressing?
Long ago, in Bethlehem,
A babe was born.
At Christmas, thank God for that blessing!

Blessings to you and your family,
as you celebrate God’s love at Christmas time.
My prayer is that the peace, love, and joy
that come from the salvation through Jesus Christ…
be yours at Christmas, and all through the year.

Your brother in Christ,

Dave

The Borg

“We are the Borg. Resistance is futile. Prepare to be assimilated.”

If you are a Star Trek fan, you recognize those words. In the Star Trek universe, there is no greater threat to civilizations than the hive intelligence that assimilates all intelligent life into the Borg collective… and obliterates all resistance. Assimilation means that individuals are surgically altered to connect with and serve the collective. The Borg, in their search for perfection, only assimilate in as much as they reprogram and enhance life forms to fit the need of the collective; what once was a unique intelligence becomes a drone for the hive. As in the picture, the body is enhanced to perform better… often by the addition, or replacement, of machine parts to create cyborg-like creatures… hence the name: Borg.

Who would allow their eye to be replaced with circuitry and lenses? Who would allow their thoughts to be programmed so that they would only serve an alien mind? Who would turn their existence over to such a soulless enemy? Well, when resistance really appears to be futile, most people pretty much just queue up for assimilation.

Ah, but that’s science fiction, right? Can’t really happen to us, right? Too late! You’ve probably already been assimilated… no, not by the Borg, but by something very similar. Broadcasting on all know communication frequencies, the conquering statement is:

“We are the world. Resistance is futile. Prepare to be assimilated.”

Our assimilation begins almost as soon as we are born. Can you feel the programming that tells you to discriminate against a certain kind of person? Can you see the lenses that only allow you to see yourself as clumsy, stupid, or useless? Many of us grew up with parents that the world had assimilated long ago. So, of course, they began our assimilation process as early as possible. Many find it difficult to remember that there is any other way to see, except through the lenses that have been placed in front of their eyes.

The world uses some pretty powerful weapons to obliterate any resistance, too. Constant pressure through radio, television, movies, books, the internet, and peers forces us to assimilate ideas that initially seem evil to us… cultures of: greed, lust, envy, dishonesty, immorality, abuse, prejudice, fear, jealousy, and ungodliness. Pretty soon something that is “abhorrent to God” is now just “a lifestyle choice.” Eventually, the world hopes to assimilate all of us. The world would have us see no right or wrong… only what’s best for the collective. The world would have us believe that there is no use for God… especially when the world has changed and enhanced, and assimilated us… making us perfect beings in its collective.

Here’s the Good News: Christ came to free us from the world! Christ proclaims:

“I am the light of the world. I bring hope. Prepare to be freed!”

In Christ, we are children of God. We can do all things in Christ, who strengthens us. In Christ, we can throw off the lenses that color our perceptions, and begin to see ourselves as gifted and talented creations of a loving God. We can then see God as perfect, and us, through our salvation at Christ’s expense, as inheritors of God’s kingdom.

So the next time you see some poor soul shuffling along preparing to be assimilated, give them some hope… broadcast on all know communication frequencies:

“Christ is the light of the world. He brings hope. Prepare to be freed!”

Your brother in Christ,

Dave