TWO - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Christmas messages o f inspiration...
The Official Newspaper
of the City of Heppner and the County of Morrow
Your Elizabethan
gift
Heppner
GAZETTE-TIMES
U.S.P.S. 240-420
Morrow County’s Home-Owned Weekly Newspaper
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David Sykes...............................................................................................Publisher
Andrea Di Salvo........................................................................................ Editor
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Hope found in
Immanuel
Matt 1:18, 23 - Now the birth o f Jesus Christ took
place in this way... "Behold, the virgin shall conceive
and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel
(which means, “God with us ”).
The power and political system at the time of the
birth of Jesus was an interesting one. The Romans were
in power in that part of the world and, while their occu
pation offered protection and peace, these came at price:
Taxation was tremendous and personal freedoms were
heavily controlled. Many Jews were severely punished or
crucified at the hands of the Romans. Rome did offer some
“self-governing,'’ but the “political” party they (mostly)
offered it to. the Sadducees, was corrupt and more in
terested in maintaining their wealth and power with the
Romans than in truly helping the people. The Sadducees
political adversaries, the Pharisees, were not much better.
They were sticklers in following the letter of the beloved
Torah, the Word of God, but found ways to explain around
its personal demands. They had knowledge, but lacked
action. They were hypocrites. Throw into that mix some
isolationists (Essenes) and revolutionaries (Zealots) and
you had quite a volatile social and political mix. In many
ways these people were a part of the problem instead of
being a solution.
Today is not so different. Taxes, climate change,
health care, debt, economic and financial instability, cost
of living, war, threats of nuclear power, poverty... well,
you get the picture. We look to our political leaders, but
I am afraid they are more like the Sadducees, Pharisees,
Essenes and Zealots of Jesus day; more interested in
maintaining power, control and prestige than in really
helping the people. I could see how someone would want
to throw up their hands and quit. And yet, I have a great
hope and confidence; 1 have peace.
You see, during this Roman occupation many looked
for the coming of the promised Messiah, one who would
fix the mess, one who would be “God with us,” Immanuel,
one who would establish the kingdom of God. There was
great hope. And One did come. His name was Jesus, which
means “Yahweh saves,” as he would save the people from
their sins. He challenged the political corruption of the
Sadducees, the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, the violence of
the Zealots and the isolationism of the Essenes. But, He
did not come to overthrow the political establishment. His
kingdom was a different kingdom. His followers were to
be known for their repentance, for following Torah with
passion and compassion. They would love God and love
their neighbors. This “kingdom” would be about releasing
captives and healing. His followers would have freedom,
joy, shalom, and a peace that passes all understanding in
spite of and in the midst of all of the social and political
turmoil.
You see, I too have great hope, freedom, joy, shalom
and peace that passes all understanding, because 1 am a
follower o f this Messiah Jesus, “God with us.” Even in
spite of and in the midst of all of the problems of the world
and in my life, I will not be afraid. I will try to love God
and love people with passion and compassion. I have to
tell you, there is great freedom in this...
Perhaps during this holiday season you find yourself
a little down in the dumps. It might be because of the
social and geopolitical circumstance. Maybe it is some
thing intensely personal. No matter. I would offer you a
message of great hope and great freedom found in Jesus,
Immanuel, “God with us.”
Pastor Keith Price
Willow Creek Baptist Church
”
Community lunch
menu
Christian Life Center members will be serving lunch
on Friday, Dec. 28, at St. Patrick’s Senior Center. The
meal will include Swiss steak, mashed potatoes and gravy,
summer squash, pickled beets, hot rolls and apple crisp.
Milk is served at each meal. Suggested donation is $3.50
per meal. Menu is subject to change.
Route 74 Restaurant will
be CLOSED FOR CHRISTMAS
December 23,24 & 25!
Have a Merry Christmas!
a m iia im m
4
What do you hear?
“Do you hear what I hear?” the caroler sings.
“It depends on where I am and what I’m listening
for,” I reply.
I hear music walking down Main Street. I hear
laughter in a First-Friday game of Angel (a.k.a. Simon)
Says, and laughter at a graveside as old memories are
shaken loose. I hear the dogs howl before I notice the
siren screaming toward another emergency in this little
community, where so many are growing older and more
frail, or battling cancer. Those are sounds you’ve surely
heard, too.
But maybe you’ve also heard gunshots in the mall, ice
clinking in a glass as another bottle of whiskey is emptied,
a door being kicked open and children screaming. Some
know those sounds.
Do your ears have enough imagination to hear insects
buzzing on the far side of a mosquito net protecting your
infant, thanks to the generosity of people you’ll never
meet, who seem to think malaria can be defeated? Are
you able to hear with the ears of an orphan in war-ravaged
Liberia, falling asleep to the noisy breathing of a dozen
other orphans sharing your ragged mattress? Do you hear
with the ears of our soldiers, deafened by unanticipated
explosions?
Things can get pretty noisy in this busy and broken
world, until we strain to hear what the caroler hears: a
child in the night bringing goodness and light; God’s only
Son Jesus, bom to die and rise and give us new life. With
that tune in our ears, the dissonant sounds all around us—
cheery and sad, wonderful and dangerous—are woven
into a different melody that sings of peace instead...a
peace that isn’t limited to good times and happy days; a
peace that persists on the inside even when peace on the
outside seems out of reach.
So hear this: ever since God sent Jesus into the world,
a song of peace and hope, love and joy, has been sung
without interruption. As hard as we’ve tried, we haven’t
been able to drown it out, because it’s God’s song, not
ours. Listen for it. Sing along.
Pastor Katv Anderson
Hope Lutheran/All Saints Episcopal churches
Last Christmas, I shared thoughts with you from the
book Christmas is not Your Birthday, by Mike Slaughter,
about how Jesus was bom unto us as a person living in the
margins. This year, I would like to share another thought
from the same book.
If you haven’t read the account of Jesus’ birth recently,
I suggest you open your Bible to the New Testament book
of Matthew where, in the first chapter, verse 18, you will
find an account of the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, which
proceeds through to chapter two, verse 18. After reading
these scriptures, I encourage you to turn to the book of
Luke, which follows Matthew and Mark, to chapter two
and read verses one through 21.
If you don’t have a Bible of your own, I am sure that
you have a friend who has a Bible. If not, then stop by
any church and asked the pastor if you can read from a
pew Bible.
I acknowledge that this is a different kind of Christ
mas message, different from any 1 have written in the
past, because you are going to have to do part of the work
yourself. I want to draw your attention to Luke chapter
one, verses five through 56. In verses five through 25, we
are told that the angel, Gabriel, appeared to Zechariah,
a temple priest, as he was offering incense to God in the
holiest portion of the temple in Jerusalem. Gabriel told
Zechariah that his barren wife, Elizabeth, would have a
child, who would prepare the way of the coming of the
Lord.
In verse 26, we are told that Gabriel was sent by God
to Nazareth to visit a virgin who was engaged to a man
named Joseph, who was a descendant of King David. The
virgin’s name was Mary. Gabriel told Mary that she would
conceive and bear a son who was to be named Jesus.
When Mary asked how this could be since she was
a virgin, Gabriel responded: “The Holy Spirit will come
upon you, and the power of the Most High will over
shadow you; therefore the child to be bom will be holy;
he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative
Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son.”
Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord,
let it be with me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed. Can you imagine how
overwhelmed Mary must have been? She was probably
12 years old. She was engaged to be married. An angel
Christmas carols playing over M acy’s speakers
appears to her. tells her that she is pregnant with the Son
were
suddenly drowned out by the awful noise of close
of God, then, as quickly as he appeared, he disappears.
gunfire.
What is she to do?
I asked the clerks who were motioning me away from
Then she remembers that the angel had said that her
the
“employee
only” locked room if I could come in, too.
relative, Elizabeth, was six months pregnant. So, she
There
was
no
time to figure out what was happening,
went to visit Elizabeth. We are told that as soon as Mary
where
to
hide,
how
to react—heroically or selfishly—or,
had greeted Elizabeth, Elizabeth affirmed to Mary that
worst
of
all,
to
find
my loved ones. Sobbing and fright
Mary was pregnant with the Lord. And Mary stayed with
ened
customers
continually
knocked on the door as we
Elizabeth for the next three months, which means that she
let
them
in.
There,
they
too
discovered that the door
remained until after the birth of Elizabeth’s son.
was
made
of
thin
composite
wood—hardly
bulletproof!
In his book, Mike Slaughter suggests that during those
People
discussed
whether
or
not
they
should
be quiet so
three months, Elizabeth tutored Mary what to expect dur
the
gunman
wouldn’t
hear
us.
I
wholeheartedly
wished
ing her pregnancy and also in her faith. This tutoring of
they
would
be
quiet
about
being
quiet
so
we
wouldn’t
be
Mary was Elizabeth’s gift to Jesus.
discovered.
Our
phones
didn’t
have
service
inside
our
And your tutoring—mentoring—sharing your life
experience with someone who is facing the same experi wooden hiding place. The only one I could call on was
ence for the first time, can also be your gift to Jesus, this the Lord.
He was and is our true hiding place. Psalm 32:7
Christmas or in the months to come.
says,
“Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me
Have you battled cancer and come out on the other
from
trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs
side? Have you experienced a pregnancy? Or raised a
of
deliverance.”
child without an owner’s manual? Have you cared for
The only safety I had was in His invisible guidance.
a loved one in their last days, or through recovery, or
See,
my husband and I, and two of my pastors, had re
through a long illness? Have you applied for Medicare?
turned
early Tuesday from a mission to the Philippines.
Are you a veteran who has gone through the application
Unwilling
to give in to jet lag after that 30-hour journey,
process for benefits? Have you experienced chemother
we’d
wearily
decided to walk the mall a while.
apy? Or a mastectomy?
I
had
gone
into Macy’s first and, strangely, picked out
If you have, then are you willing to mentor someone
an
outfit
to
try
on
but put it aside to try on later. I walked
who is facing this fearful time for the first time? I am sure
away
wondering
why
I didn’t just try it now. My husband
that you know someone who is facing such a trauma in
waited
patiently
at
Starbuck’s
instead of another place we
this community or in your family. Will you reach out to
have
met
before—
outside
of
Macy’s.
My pastors visited
them? Will you allay their fears? Will you assure them that
a
shop
right
outside
the
main
mall.
they can weather the storm? Will you relay your sense of
I’ve always liked Psalm 37:23: “The steps of a good
God being present with you throughout your ordeal? Will
man
are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his
you assure them that they need not suffer alone? That you
way.”
will be there for them?
Just before the shooting, I walked past the store the
Your experience of fear, of pain and, eventually, hope
gunman
entered moments later, wishing to go in and shop
can also become the seed for God’s miracle in someone
for
one
last
Christmas present. Instead, I continued to the
else’s life. This is a gift that no one else can give. This is
place
I'd
left
an outfit to try on. I didn’t know why, since
a gift that will be cherished forever.
I
didn’t
even
really like the outfit and definitely wasn’t
May the gift of Jesus enrich you and your loved ones
clothes
shopping.
Instead of dawdling as everyone knows
through out the coming year.
I
do
when
shopping,
I grabbed the outfit and went to the
I invite you to join us Christmas Eve at 7 p.m. to cel
dressing
room.
That
was
when the gunman came through
ebrate the birth of Jesus and to help those less fortunate
the
same
store,
same
floor,
feet away.
through the evening’s offering, which will be donated to
The
next
morning,
struggling
to regain peace inside, I
the Neighborhood Center.
opened
my
Bible
to
Psalm
138:7:
“Though I walk in the
Pastor Jonathan Enz
midst
of
trouble,
thou
wilt
revive
me: thou shalt stretch
United Methodist Church
forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and
thy right hand shall save me.”
See, the gunshots caused shock, but not being able
to find my husband or beloved pastors in the ensuing
confusion caused a terror inside me difficult to shake off.
As we see the troubled and violent times we are coming
“...and when (the wise men) had opened their trea into, we hold onto the above verse not only for ourselves
sures, they presented unto him gifts... Matthew 2: 11
but for our loved ones as we walk with the One Who is
The Heppner Gazette-Times has been my weekly our Hiding Place.
life-link to the friendly streets of the Willow Creek Val
May we hold onto Isaiah 60:1-2: “Arise, shine; for
ley area.
thy light is come, and the glory o f the LORD is risen upon
From Salem, I can read of the people, businesses, thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and
churches and homes that I came to know in my years of gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon
pastoring a church there. And I marvel at the many ways thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee.”
that the Holy Child of Bethlehem is honored through the
Our fellowship prays, as we are sure so many others
kind, giving, sharing nature of the folk I read about.
do, for healing and for God’s help in our nation. Romans
People still leave the comfort of their homes to jour 8:21-22 says, “Because the creature itself also shall be
ney out into the world. They bring the gifts in many forms delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glori
that they have been blessed with. And when they do, I ous liberty of the children of God. For we know that the
know that the child of the manger scene smiles.
whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together
It is as though the Christmas story is lived out before until now.”
my eyes, in the pages o f the Gazette-Times, every day
God help us to hear that groaning but to reflect the
of the year.
light as Jesus did when He came to earth. May we reflect
Thank you, good people, for the Gospel lived in the hope He brought to us that day, as Hebrews 6:19 says,
truth.
“Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure
Rev. Keith Brudevold, retired pastor
and steadfast...”
(Note: Rev. Brudevold served at The United Methodist
Catherine Olsen
Church in Heppner from 2002 to 2008.)
Elohim Covenant Church
Looking for light in
the darkness
The wise men keep
on visiting
"
I