(ADVENT 6) Unwrapping Christmas: His Presence

Because we have been saved, we can walk each day with an abiding sense of God being with us - His Spirit dwells in us, and we can enjoy the gift of His presence. Psalm 16 relates the words of the Psalmist:
8 I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope.
10 For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
11 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Jesus, in John 15, described Himself as the vine and said that we are the branches, deriving our life from the vine - He instructed us on abiding in Him. We do so by maintaining an awareness of His Spirit within us and by filling our minds with His Word.  If I regard Him as "always before me," that can give me confidence, peace, and joy. Jesus died and rose again so that by receiving Him, He actually lives in our hearts.

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It's December 6 - Day 6 of "25: A Christmas Advent-ure" in our Faith Radio Advent Guide. This year, our theme is Unwrapping Christmas, as we reflect on gifts that have been made available to us by virtue of God sending Jesus into the world.  So far, we've talked about the gifts of salvation, mercy, satisfaction, holiness and righteousness, excitement, and today...His presence.  We can experience the presence of God because Jesus is alive and is alive in us; plus, He has given us His Holy Spirit. 

Matthew 1:23 is the verse that correlates with this "gift" in the Guide, but I want to begin reading at verse 20 - there is an encounter here between an angel and Joseph, who had been chosen to be the earthly father of Jesus, having received the news that Mary was pregnant:
20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."
22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:
23 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."

So, there you have verse 23, which includes words taken from the 7th chapter of the book of Isaiah, a reminder of the abiding presence of Christ in our hearts.

Because He lives in us, we take the presence of Christ into the places we go.  We are responsible to be a good Christian witness to those with whom we interact. 

Christians have been challenged by the proliferation of these "drag queen" events which have been held at local libraries. There are concerns that these events expose children to deviant sexual behaviors, centered around transgenderism.  They are held on public property, and some believe this form of communication is protected by the First Amendment.  You have found concerned Christians who have protested these types of events at libraries and other venues.

But, a recent piece published on the Media Research Center website offers a different approach.  The article opens up by saying:

From children being told their “Drag Queen Names” in 2017, to Pizza Hut pushing a “Drag Queen” book for kids in 2022, many Americans (and Canadians) have witnessed the bewildering and unsettling sight of grown males in drag engaging in uncomfortable – often lewd – interaction with small children in locales such as public libraries and even in bars.

It points to "a way that not only shows the inventiveness of folks who want to offer a positive alternative to what they correctly view as a destructive movement, but which also can help observers learn some powerful lessons about public property."

Michael Foster is a pastor in Batavia, Ohio, and has decided he wants to take the presence of God into the library and offer a Christ-centered alternative to the Drag Queen Story Hour.  The MRC article points to a piece by Mark Kellner at The Washington Times website that quotes from the pastor:

“The Rev. Michael Foster, pastor of East River Church in Batavia, said ‘men in lingerie, reading books to little kids and twerking things is super disturbing and twisted.’

The Community Reformed Evangelical Church pastor said protesting the drag queen readings did not ‘lead to much good effect.’ He decided to take another route.”

          And so, as Kellner reports, Foster thought:

“‘You know what, we should just do our own, we should just go to our libraries and do a really good job at telling good wholesome Bible stories,’ he said in a telephone interview.”

          Foster’s motivation stems from what he recognizes as a growing moral void in American society:

“He said the storytime is one way to respond to what he described as a moral crisis in America.

‘Nature abhors a vacuum, and we’re living in a country that’s fatherless,’ Mr. Foster said. ‘And someone’s going to step into that vacuum to speak into young people’s lives. We can let it be men in lingerie or it can be us,’ he said.”

The Facebook announcement for the November 23 event included this preview:

This month Pastor Michael Foster will be reading James Shrimpton's The King and the Dragon.

In this imaginative story, James Shrimpton teaches children the story of redemption in the Bible through the lens of dragon slaying.

When the knight slays the dragon in any story, readers and listeners all cheer in celebration. We rejoice because it echoes the Bible―the victory of good over evil is a prominent theme because the Lord came to have final victory over the devil.

One of the tendencies that I believe we have as the Church is to become so intent on exposing darkness that we are not offering Biblically-based solutions - and that is something that challenges me as a Christian communicator and program host. I think it's important that we are informed about relevant topics, but we also have to be vigilant to show a way forward.  The issue of Drag Queen Story Hours, and drag shows in general, has certainly been problematic, and while I believe that communities - and communities of faith - should not provide this platform, we continue to see this type of behavior promoted and rewarded.  

So, rather than merely speak out against these demonstrations of deviancy, which is important to do - here you have an alternative message that is being offered - instead of drag queens promoting debauchery, why not have pastors promoting decency, offering a Scripture-based message?  If we are convinced of the superiority of the message of Christ and its redemptive power, then we can seek for ways to insert that message into cultural settings and personal conversations.