There’s an extra-Biblical book, the Psalms of Solomon. It’s not canonized as scripture but it still has value because the book reveals what people expected from the Messiah. The Psalms of Solomon said that the Messiah would purge the holy city of Jerusalem of corrupt sinners and the Gentiles who defiled the land. The book opens with the author (not actually Solomon) lamenting that the downfall of Jerusalem was the result of both the invading armies and the moral rot of his own people:

I cried unto the Lord when I was in distress [ ], Unto God when sinners assailed. Suddenly the alarm of war was heard before me; (I said), He will hearken to me, for I am full of righteousness. I thought in my heart that I was full of righteousness, Because I was well off and had become rich in children. Their wealth spread to the whole earth, And their glory unto the end of the earth. They were exalted unto the stars; They said they would never fall. But they became insolent in their prosperity, And they were without understanding, Their sins were in secret, And even I had no knowledge (of them). Their transgressions (went) beyond those of the heathen before them; They utterly polluted the holy things of the Lord.

Psalms of Solomon 1:1-8 (more…)

The medium is the message. Who experienced the first Christmas were enlisted by God to explain what the Gospel was. The results are always surprising.

For instance, the Archangel told the shephards of a baby was born in Bethlehem that was given to them. This baby was the long awaited Messiah. The angel described the child as “the savior for all people. Christ, the Lord.” As if to punctuate the moment, a choir of angels appeared and sang a chorus: “Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his peace on Earth.”

The shepherds were an unlikely audience to receive an angelic serenade, and not just because men who make a profession of living in the fields with sheep are less likely be cultured. Shepherds had a poor professional reputation. Today, you’ll find soft news stories cataloguing the most and least trusted professions. Our society tends to trust doctors, nurses, and homemaker. But we’re suspicious of lawmakers, mechanics, and members of the media, and clergy. If polled like these were conducted in Bible times, shepherds would belong to the latter list. In fact, they earn such a poor reputation that they weren’t allowed to testify in court. If a shepherd had witnessed a violent crime or a burglary his testimony would have been inadmissible in court. They were that distrusted. (more…)

My son recently returned from band camp and recovered from his grueling work by catching up on the past week’s Daily Show and Colbert Report. Stewart and Colbert must have referred to the term “anchor baby” a half-dozen times in reference to the immigration debate in Arizona.

“Anchor baby” is a new phrase to me so I started googling. I learned that it’s a pejorative phrase used by the most outspoken immigrant opponents. The theory is that immigrants will have a child born in U.S. soil and then use that child’s U.S. citizenship as the legal grounds to apply for their own citizenship. The U.S. born child will– when they turn 21-years-old– be able to sponsor their parents’ application for U.S. citizenship.

Let me be clear: This is horrible language. To label a person an anchor baby or an anchor child is to imply that they were born out of utility and not love, that their sole reason for existence is a tactic to serve the interests of the parents. To call someone an anchor baby is to label them something worse than a “bastard.” The term reduces the person to a legally necessary piece of flesh and nothing more. It’s devaluing language that can be used to mask the racism of the people using it. The immigration issue is complex and deserves to be discussed well. “Anchor baby” is an unworthy part of the political lexicon.

Let’s strike it.

Surprisingly, the only person this term could apply to would be our Savior. (more…)



The Twitter-verse runs on speed and the rush to judgement. So when Rick Warren tweeted:

I challenge any church in America to match the spiritual maturity, godliness & commitment of any 500 members of Saddleback.

Christian social media jockeys rushed to their chairs and pecked out their assessments. “Rick’s lost it.” “What pride!” and “I defy any church in America to find 500 people who need Jesus more than the people in my congregation.” (I kind of like that one.)

The reality is that we’re all familiar enough with Pastor Rick to know that he wasn’t being arrogant. We know his body of work. Let’s write it off to the dangers of communicating with 140 characters while being observed by a cloud of twittering witnesses.

I suspect that Rick was trying to affirm his congregation. Nothing more, nothing less. For decades Rick has endured criticism that he’s dumbed down Christianity to get butts in the chairs. The logical conclusion of that assessment is that the folk in his church aren’t spiritually discerning or deep. I’m sure some of Saddleback’s congregation understand this is how a segment of their peers view them. I believe and hope that Rick spoke with a pastor’s heart. He was attempting to validate the faith of his flock and the ministry of his leaders. He was saying “I see spiritual maturity. Our work here was not in vain.” His offered up his people as a witness that the power of the Gospel is active at Saddleback.

I’m wondering if we all could get off his back, or at least offer the benefit of the doubt. He’s been pastoring too long and too well to assume anything less.

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Saint Joseph with the Infant Jesus by Guido Reni, c 1635

When I set out to research the original cast of Christmas, I did so using the assumption that “the medium is the message.” My theory was that the people and settings that God chose to involve in the incarnation provide clue as to what the Gospel actual is. Imagine my surprise to learn the Greek Orthodox place Joseph to be 90-years-old at the time of his engagement to Mary.

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