3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you...
As we approach Christmas, I think it's important to dissect the concept of the hope with have in Him. The picture of Jesus in a manger is an image of hope - God became a man, sending His own Son to earth, so that in Him we might have new life. Jesus humbled Himself, even to the point of death, so that we could be raised to new life in Him and have a relationship with Him through salvation. The manger becomes a symbol of hope, of humility, of the humanity that Jesus took upon Himself so that humanity might be reconciled to God.
We are now into our final week leading up to Christmas on our Advent-ure this year, and on Day 19, I have another symbol for you, a powerful reminder of the birth of Jesus and its significance. On Friday, the 16th, the symbol was the census papers. The 17th symbol is the donkey, the accepted method of transportation for Mary and Joseph as they travelled to Bethelehem, according to the plan of God. And, symbol #18 is Joseph's tools, representing a man who was chosen to fulfill God's purpose, to be the earthly father of the Christ child.
Today, we come to the manger. Jesus wasn't born in a palace or a castle; rather, He humbled Himself, coming to earth as a man and being born in unpretentious circumstances. In Luke 2, we
read this:
6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.
7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
The humility shown by our Savior is highlighted in Philippians 2:
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
Well, the story has taken a life of its own, and not necessarily in a positive way. The online story now is preceded by this Editor's Note: "Since publication of this story, the News Sentinel has done additional investigation in an attempt to independently verify Schmitt-Matzen’s account. This has proven unsuccessful. Although facts about his background have checked out, his story of bringing a gift to a dying child remains unverified. The News Sentinel cannot establish that Schmitt-Matzen’s account is inaccurate, but more importantly, ongoing reporting cannot establish that it is accurate."
Oh, my! And, people are speaking out to defend Eric. Faithwire published a follow-up story, quoting Eric's friend Aaron Johnston, who wrote: “There has been fake news reports floating around about our friend Eric,” adding, “All of us beardsman and whiskerinas know him and know how great of a man he is.” Johnston told the website, “He’s just a good, solid guy and there’s no reason to lie about something like that,” and added, “I have a little bit of faith that there is good news in the world … just because it’s nice doesn’t mean it’s fake.”
Another Knoxville media outlet has attempted to verify details of the story. According to the Faithwire piece, television station WBIR reported on Thursday that it has been able to verify “several critical details of this story, but has agreed not to publish those for the sake of privacy.”
His wife said, that while he may have related to timeline incorrectly, “I know how he reacted that next morning, and this is something that weighed so heavy on him...I just know that he just needed time by himself to accept what happened because he obviously wasn’t prepared for a child to die in his arms.”
The story also says that:
This Santa was trying to bring a measure of hope to a dying child, and coming face-to-face with death had a tremendous impact on him. Let's think together about true Biblical hope, which can be symbolized for us by the manger in Bethlehem.
For one thing, our hope in Christ is a lasting hope, and can bring certainty about eternity. Because of what He has done for us, we can know that when we do get to heaven, if we have accepted Christ into our hearts, then we will be admitted to the place that He has prepared for us. We don't have to guess about our eternal hope - if we know Christ and have accepted Him on earth, we will be with Him forever.
We also know that our hope in Him is an unfailing hope. In times of uncertainty, we can know that He is with us always, that He lives in our hearts and He is there to comfort, strengthen, and guide us in our most difficult moments. At all times, He is our companion, and the friend who sticks closer than a brother.
We can be convinced that our hope in Christ is a reliable hope. We never have to question the story that is told in the Scriptures. The Word of God is reliable; we know that the Nativity occurred, and the Biblical account of resurrection of Christ can inspire great confidence. The redemptive story of Jesus has withstood scrutiny and challenge, yet, it has survived - because it's true! The question for each of us is whether or not we believe in the living reality of a Savior who died for us so that might live.
+++++
We are now into our final week leading up to Christmas on our Advent-ure this year, and on Day 19, I have another symbol for you, a powerful reminder of the birth of Jesus and its significance. On Friday, the 16th, the symbol was the census papers. The 17th symbol is the donkey, the accepted method of transportation for Mary and Joseph as they travelled to Bethelehem, according to the plan of God. And, symbol #18 is Joseph's tools, representing a man who was chosen to fulfill God's purpose, to be the earthly father of the Christ child.
Today, we come to the manger. Jesus wasn't born in a palace or a castle; rather, He humbled Himself, coming to earth as a man and being born in unpretentious circumstances. In Luke 2, we
read this:
6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.
7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
The humility shown by our Savior is highlighted in Philippians 2:
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
The manger for us is a place of humility and it is also a place of hope. The selfless actions of our Savior were taken so that in Him we might have life and experience the freedom that He brings. The manger for us can challenge us to surrender to the love of God and to the lives of others. It can also help us to think that we are hope-givers - bringing a lasting, unfailing, reliable hope.
*****
The story has been making the rounds this Christmas season of a Knoxville man named Eric Schmitt-Matzen - a column on the Knoxville News Sentinel website describes him, and he does seem to be like a consummate Santa Claus.
He’s professionally trained. Custom-tailored in red. Was born on Dec. 6 (that’s Saint Nicholas Day, of course; are you surprised?) Works approximately 80 gigs annually. Wife Sharon plays an authentic Mrs. Claus. His cellphone, with a “Jingle Bells” ringtone, continually counts down the days until Christmas. Even his civilian attire always includes Santa suspenders.And, he does have an authentic white beard. The story goes that he was called to a local hospital to see a young boy who was on the verge of death. Schmitt-Matzen went into the Intensive Care Unit and gave him a present provided by his mother. The weak boy opened the present and then asked the big guy a question. Here's the conversation, according to what was in the newspaper column:
‘“They say I’m gonna die,’ he told me. ‘How can I tell when I get to where I’m going?’
“I said, ‘Can you do me a big favor?’
“He said, ‘Sure!’
“When you get there, you tell ’em you’re Santa’s Number One elf, and I know they’ll let you in.
“He said, ‘They will?’
“I said, ‘Sure!’
“He kinda sat up and gave me a big hug and asked one more question: ‘Santa, can you help me?’
“I wrapped my arms around him. Before I could say anything, he died right there. I let him stay, just kept hugging and holding on to him.
“Everyone outside the room realized what happened. His mother ran in. She was screaming, ‘No, no, not yet!’ I handed her son back and left as fast as I could.After this incident, Eric contemplated giving up playing Santa - he said he was a "basket case for three days." Couldn't stop thinking about all the time for about a week or two.
Well, the story has taken a life of its own, and not necessarily in a positive way. The online story now is preceded by this Editor's Note: "Since publication of this story, the News Sentinel has done additional investigation in an attempt to independently verify Schmitt-Matzen’s account. This has proven unsuccessful. Although facts about his background have checked out, his story of bringing a gift to a dying child remains unverified. The News Sentinel cannot establish that Schmitt-Matzen’s account is inaccurate, but more importantly, ongoing reporting cannot establish that it is accurate."
Oh, my! And, people are speaking out to defend Eric. Faithwire published a follow-up story, quoting Eric's friend Aaron Johnston, who wrote: “There has been fake news reports floating around about our friend Eric,” adding, “All of us beardsman and whiskerinas know him and know how great of a man he is.” Johnston told the website, “He’s just a good, solid guy and there’s no reason to lie about something like that,” and added, “I have a little bit of faith that there is good news in the world … just because it’s nice doesn’t mean it’s fake.”
Another Knoxville media outlet has attempted to verify details of the story. According to the Faithwire piece, television station WBIR reported on Thursday that it has been able to verify “several critical details of this story, but has agreed not to publish those for the sake of privacy.”
His wife said, that while he may have related to timeline incorrectly, “I know how he reacted that next morning, and this is something that weighed so heavy on him...I just know that he just needed time by himself to accept what happened because he obviously wasn’t prepared for a child to die in his arms.”
The story also says that:
Schmitt-Matzen has maintained that he will release the names of neither the family nor the nurse involved, with his wife saying the nurse is reportedly nervous that she could lose her job for bringing a non-family member into the ICU without getting the proper permission from the hospital, according to WBIR-TV.So, at this point, this is a heartwarming Christmas story with an unusual twist. I wouldn't be surprised if more information is released about this encounter.
This Santa was trying to bring a measure of hope to a dying child, and coming face-to-face with death had a tremendous impact on him. Let's think together about true Biblical hope, which can be symbolized for us by the manger in Bethlehem.
For one thing, our hope in Christ is a lasting hope, and can bring certainty about eternity. Because of what He has done for us, we can know that when we do get to heaven, if we have accepted Christ into our hearts, then we will be admitted to the place that He has prepared for us. We don't have to guess about our eternal hope - if we know Christ and have accepted Him on earth, we will be with Him forever.
We also know that our hope in Him is an unfailing hope. In times of uncertainty, we can know that He is with us always, that He lives in our hearts and He is there to comfort, strengthen, and guide us in our most difficult moments. At all times, He is our companion, and the friend who sticks closer than a brother.
We can be convinced that our hope in Christ is a reliable hope. We never have to question the story that is told in the Scriptures. The Word of God is reliable; we know that the Nativity occurred, and the Biblical account of resurrection of Christ can inspire great confidence. The redemptive story of Jesus has withstood scrutiny and challenge, yet, it has survived - because it's true! The question for each of us is whether or not we believe in the living reality of a Savior who died for us so that might live.
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