<> Ask the Pastor The Rev. Walter Snyder Dear Fellow Redeemed, Ask the Pastor is more of a Christmas card than a column this week. However, the card is not late---this issue of the paper is being published on the twenty-seventh of December, which is only the Third Day of Christmas. After months of seemingly premature marketing of this sacred time by secular sources, the Church shouldn't let it slip by without fully appreciating the mystery and the wonder of the Incarnation: "The Word became flesh and lived among us." So rather than hurry onward, I urge you to come again to see him whose birth the prophets foretold, the angels proclaimed, and the Church celebrates. To you is born a Savior who is Christ the Lord. He wasn't only for those shepherds who first left everything and came hurrying to see what was so important that God's messengers left heaven to make announcement. He wasn't only born so Simeon could hold and proclaim him as Light and Salvation or to give Anna a final glimpse of God fulfilling his divine will before she died. Dear friends, "to you is born" a Savior who is Christ the Lord. He came to earth as have millions of human babies, yet he came as no other. He was born flesh and blood---he was (and is) a true, living human being. Yet he was born as no other, for he was also born sinless---indeed, he was (and is) truly and fully God. It is impossible to understand the totality of this Gift. So we don't try to understand; we joyfully receive him through his Word and his forgiveness, through Baptism and his Supper. Thus, the Scriptures and songs of Christmas do not tell us all there is to know, but we are told what we need to know. With a hymn-writer of the 1800s, we joyfully say, "Let us all with gladsome voice Praise the God of heaven, Who, to make our hearts rejoice, His own Son has given." This one verse sums up Christmas nicely, yet God would have us know his Son better, so the song continues, "To this place of fears he came, Servant, Healer, Mender; Through his death we heaven claim, There to reign in splendor." Christmas is not an ending; that first Noel only began Jesus earthly life. It was the start of his journey toward the cross, carrying our sins with him. Thus, the hymn continues, "We are rich, for he was poor; Is not this a wonder? Therefore praise God evermore Here on earth and yonder." Jesus left the eternal glory and riches of heaven. Not only did he become a poor, weak, helpless child---he also carried our sins to Calvary that we sinners might receive the riches that were due only to him. By his sacrifice, we have life eternal with our Father. We are children of the Heavenly Father only because of God's love coming down at Christmas. We couldn't earn or merit anything, so all praise belongs to God "hear on earth and yonder," since Christ is our hope in this life and our eternal joy in the life to come in heaven. Because of his all-availing sacrifice, because we are remade by his work, we Christians rejoice in his presence. We have only one theme: We want "All Jesus, All the Time." Therefore the author of this carol concludes the final stanza, "Christ, our Lord and Savior dear, Oh, be ever near us. Be our joy throughout each year. Amen, Jesus, hear us." "Amen"---faith answers its faithful God in true worship. Amen is the Biblical proclamation of certainty. We end our prayers with it because we trust that God will answer for Christ's sake. We use it to respond to the gifts of God because it acknowledges that all that we have comes only because of the good and gracious will of God. So, it is most certainly true that our dear Jesus joyfully hears us and continues to plead for the Father's continuing mercy and blessing all the days of our lives. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and God's richest blessings now and all the days of your life. That's it for now. You can submit questions by mail to "Ask the Pastor," PO Box 1080, Jasper, Texas, 75951; E-mail xrysostom@aol.com; or just stop me on the street. Walter Snyder is the pastor of St. Paul and Faith Lutheran Churches in Jasper and Woodville, Texas and coauthor of the book "What Do Lutherans Believe? A Study Guide in Christian Teachings for Adults." Copyright (c) 1998 by Walter P. Snyder Permission is granted by author to reproduce or retransmit this by any means, provided that its content is not altered, that this notice of copyright and permission is included, and that no financial gain is realized.