Continued Teachings from the Baptist Rabbi

Everyone wants to know. "Where are you going for Christmas?' How many times are you asked that question this time of the year? Quite a few. And most of the time we will answer, "Well, we are going home for Christmas (wherever home is)." Isn't it interesting that we go home for a lot of things. Whenever someone dies that was very dear to us, we go "home" for the funeral. Frequently, they are buried in the "hometown" cemetery. When there are problems in our lives and we need help, we go "home" and we talk to those people who are very dear to us and we love what they have to say. Most of all, we love their support. We also go "home" to celebrate. The meaningful moments in life are more meaningful if you can celebrate with someone who is very dear. So...when it comes Christmas time, we want to go home and celebrate this most precious time of the year with the people who are so very dear to us. We go "home." We do th...

John 1:11 It was time to go Christmas shopping. Having had some unpleasant experiences with late Christmas shopping, I decided to start earlier. As I made my way through the morning traffic in Johnson City, a sidewalk protester came into view. A large placard was in his hands as he stood on the sidewalk in front of a used car dealer. At first I thought he was on strike; but as I came closer the wording of the sign left little doubt as to his protest. The sign read, "If you want a rotten deal, buy a car here." As I was going my merry way, a fellow pilgrim in life was in misery. He felt that he had been taken by the car dealer. His somber face gave no expression of glad tidings. This experience made me pause and think about Christmas. I came to see that the first Christmas was not without its moments of agony. Consider with me the agony of Mary and Joseph. Supposed you were a teenage girl and were pregnant and unmarried. Or suppose you were a man engaged to a young lady w...