10 years ago today, the wedding photographer was working her magic at the wedding of Daryl and Iwona in Caronport, Saskatchewan.
It was a privilege to travel up to Canada for the big occasion. I had lots of time to play with pictures and video, so I took this odd little video of the photographer arranging Daryl and Iwona on a couch for a picture. Yes, it was only 10 years ago, not 50 as it may appear!
It’s probably happened to you at some point. You see a big crowd gathered around something, and you got over to see what it is. It’s probably something much smaller than the crowd that it has attracted!
The third verse in this magnificent Christmas carol begins with a crowd – a crowd of angels. What’s going on?
Rank on rank the host of Heaven Spreads its vanguard on the way
Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence
We don’t know everything that was going on “behind the scenes” before or during the birth of Christ. We do know that the angels were very interested. Peter himself tells us, “angels long to look” into God’s wonderful gospel work (1 Peter 1:12).
But of course we do know that a heavenly army appeared to the shepherds, saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:14) Maybe it was only a small portion of God’s angelic hosts. A song from the 1970s by John W. Thompson suggests that “the angels spilled over heaven’s edge and filled the air”! The song (“That Night”) captures the joy and excitement that the angels must have felt.
But this carol, and probably Luke 2 as well, suggest something less chaotic and more organized and awesome – rank on rank – the angel army – and why are they there?
Rank on rank the host of Heaven Spreads its vanguard on the way, As the Light of light descendeth From the realms of endless day
Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence
The Light of Light descends – Christ Himself. You’ll remember that term – Light of Light – from one of my two votes for the greatest Christmas carol of all time. God of God, Light of light. The term is from the Nicene Creed, and you can click the link the learn more about that.
There is endless day in heaven because God Himself gives it light:
The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended.
Isaiah 60:19-20
And we learn this in Revelation:
And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.
Revelation 21:23
Jesus is light and life. John describes the light that was “coming into the world”:
In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:4-5
This little Baby was truly the everlasting light, and now the light of the world (John 8:12, John 9:5). Why had He come? Let’s read the whole stanza…
Rank on rank the host of Heaven Spreads its vanguard on the way, As the Light of light descendeth From the realms of endless day, That the powers of hell may vanish As the darkness clears away.
Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence
The writer imagines Christ as a light plummeting out of the heavens, led by His army of angels. As the Apostle John wrote, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” The Light chases away all the darkness of hell.
Because, after all, all of creation was under a curse (Romans 8:20-22). All humanity was dead in sin (Ephesians 2:1), lost forever (Romans 3:9-20), simply inventing new ways to do evil (Romans 1:30). There was no light. Something had to come to us from outside of the creation. Something – or Someone – not dependant on the creation itself. And that Someone did come. The only One who could banish the darkness, because He is the only Light.
And the final stanza of this carol, which we’ll get to next week, will suggest that He was indeed successful in His mission. The end of the story is a sharp contrast, for us, to the image of a Baby in a manger.
Tomorrow we were supposed to be expecting the arrival of a short term team to help with the ministry here. But – no team.
We’re not exactly sure of all the reasons why the team cancelled, but as you might imagine we’re pretty disappointed. But, God has His own good plan for us.
So, we’re moving ahead with other things. This Sunday we’re starting a four week Christmas series at church, and I’m preparing my part – a message on the Prologue of the Gospel of John. Where to begin? This is such an important passage regarding the nature of Christ and the incarnation. And there is so much confusion on that topic.
We’re also getting ready for next year’s ministry. And tonight I’ll be in our regular leadership Bible study.
And we’re hoping that we’ll be able to get a bit of a break for some family time over Christmas! It’s coming, you know.
We did have an unexpected surprise this week – a visit from our friend and fellow missionary Guillermo Reddekopp. It was unexpected for him too – after complications with a stop-over in Mexico City, he ended up having to spend the night. And thankfully, he chose Hotel Cottrill.
So his loss was our gain, and we enjoyed a time of fellowship. The Reddekops are serving here in Mexico, and are preparing for some exciting changes in ministry. But they live very far from us, so we’ve never seen them on Mexican soil.
Who doesn’t love a good picnic? All the better if someone else brings the food!
What a picnic it must have been, listening to the Messiah teach – a Messiah who miraculously prepared food for thousands of people who had come to listen!
Let’s admit it – people were getting concerned. They had been so carried away with the words – and the miracles! – of the Teacher, that they had not planned ahead. Jesus was the one who pointed out the problem – “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” He asked one of the local boys, Philip. But He already knew what He would do.
With five barley loaves and two fish He fed them all – that is to say, He created food for them to eat. What a king this Teacher would make! While the Roman army worried about its supply chains and mobile kitchens, the followers of Jesus would be well fed and healthy. But – where had Jesus gone?
His disciples had left in boats – Jesus wasn’t with them. The search began. No sign of Jesus. But the disciples would know where He was. So, many in the crowd found boats and headed toward Capernaum. And – surprise! – Jesus was there – who knows how he got there.
Jesus knew why they were looking for Him. They were all talking about barley loaves and fish. It was the next day, and they were hungry again.
“Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life . . .” Jesus told them.
Sounds delicious! What’s this “work” we’re supposed to do? Sign me up. I’m sure it’s better than spreading manure on my field.
“This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
Believe? Fine, we believe. Are you going to show us another miracle? Something really really big this time. After all, Jesus was the Prophet, right? The One like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15)!
But the crowd had their focus all wrong. “. . . it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.”
Fine – details, details. Pass the food baskets!
No, they still didn’t understand. “. . . the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
Wait – what? – Jesus is the bread? We must be misunderstanding. He means he’s the source of the bread, right? Well, here we are! “Sir, give us this bread always!”
The crowd saw the analogy, but they weren’t getting the reality. Yes, Jesus Himself is the bread. In fact, “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” But if you eat the Bread from Heaven – Jesus Himself – you will be completely and eternally satisfied.
What – like, cannibalism?
No, of course not. What did Jesus mean when He said He was the food, the bread? “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” To eat and drink was the analogy. To come to Him, believe in Him, was the reality.
The crowd had “come” to Him, of course. They had been searching for Him! They believed He could feed them physical food. Jesus could satisfy their hunger. Just as God sent manna in the days of Moses. But Someone greater than Moses was here. The Prophet, the Messiah, the Giver of Life. The crowd believed they had seen miracles, they believed that they had been fed, but they did not truly have their trust in the Christ.
He was the only Saviour, God in the flesh, Lord of Lords, the true Bread from Heaven. And although they had seen, they did not believe.
“And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” The flesh that was torn on the cross. The blood that was shed. Those who believed would forever be a part of Christ – and have eternal life in Him (John 6:40).
Liturgical Quotations compiled by the author of the English version of “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence”, Gerard Moultrie.
That is the spiritual truth of Christmas. A physical death, a physical resurrection, that we, through faith, may have life forever. All those who have been drawn by the Father (John 6:44).
“Ponder nothing earthy minded” said our Christmas carol in the first verse. Physical food is a great blessing to enjoy during the Christmas holidays – but all food points to something greater – the Bread from Heaven, who sustains believers for all eternity, through His incarnation and victory on the cross, His victory over death.
And so the carol continues:
King of kings, yet born of Mary, As of old on earth He stood, Lord of lords, in human vesture, In the body and the blood; He will give to all the faithful His own self for heavenly food.
Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence
If you’re ready to eat it – ready to do the “work of God” – listen again to the words of the Messiah. “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
Do you believe that He is truly the way to God, the only truth? The life-giver? Find life in Him today – and this will be the most beautiful Christmas ever!
(Read the full story of Jesus and the hungry crowd here – John 6.)
All right, not quite a year. But it was in 2019 that Rod and I began planning a new study for Sunday School called “Biblical Anthropology”.
Original promo poster for Biblical Anthropology series.
It was put on hold in 2020, and then revived in 2021, but Rod wasn’t in Mexico for the majority of the year, so I ended up teaching it – one lesson per month, starting in February. And ending – this Sunday!
It has been a fascinating opportunity at a fascinating time in history to look at some of the things that are going on in our world, and to see what the Bible has to say about them. I read lots of books I otherwise would not have read, studied history I would not have studied, listened to other people’s sermons I would not otherwise have listened to, and read articles I would not have otherwise read. And all that in two languages from multiple countries!
This Sunday will actually be a review/overview/opportunity for discussion, questions and comments from all of the topics we covered this year. Here’s a brief look at what we studied, while I have it all fresh in my mind:
“The Beginning” – why the first few words and phrases of Genesis are completely revolutionary, and how the Bible explains humanity, and in fact reality itself.
“Christ or Chaos” – The horror of sin, the “Great Universal Project of Humanity”, and what happens when God’s truth is rejected.
“The Image” – What does it mean to be created in the image of God? How have we tried to destroy the image, and how did “Christmas” restore it?
“The Family” – What does the Bible say about family, gender, and sexuality?
“The Borders of Life” – What the Bible says about euthanasia, suicide, abortion, and various types of murder and homicide. Suffering and death from a biblical perspective.
“The Authorities” – This wasn’t originally meant to be a part of the series, but it was part of our study through Romans. But it’s such an important part of being human, in the future I would definitely include it. It will be in the review on Sunday.
“Technology” – Science and technology, evaluating technology in our lives, transhumanism, posthumanism, antihumanism, etc.
“Justice” – Biblical teaching on truth and justice, and justice as seen by many in the world today.
“Partiality” – Race and racism from a biblical standpoint, more on justice and the rule of law in the Bible. How Christians should promote justice.
“Creativity and Communication” – A focus on art, and touching on communication, social media, etc. Can it be evaluated? How can it be used? How does the world twist even this good gift of God?
“The Environment” – Principles of caring for creation from the Bible, and the clash of the Christian worldview and the worldview of secular humanism in this area.
“Everything Together” – a review of it all!
I’m considering posting some of this study here at Finding direction, because it would be a good review for me and maybe be helpful for some of you as well. But in the meantime, I’ve started posting it in Spanish at En la Biblia (lessons 1, 2, and 6 (in two parts) can be found there, and in fact, I did post the study “The Authorities” here as “The Christian and the Government” in English.
If you would like to pray for our review on Sunday, that would be great. This series has certainly gotten to some of the most important things in life, and some of the biggest issues in our world today, though of course in a very brief introductory format. But I look forward to hearing more from our congregation about what they’ve learned – or what they’re completely confused about! 🙂
It was a time of falling and rising empires. The great Assyrian Empire was all that anyone remembered. And Judah had watched when the northern kingdom of Israel had finally fallen in 722 BC.
A century later, there was another power growing in the east – the Chaldeans, also known as the Babylonians. The young empire quickly began to gobble up territory. They would soon become an instrument of God’s judgement as their armies headed toward Judah.
But although God would use the Babylonians for His purposes, He would also judge their sin. They had no intention of going out on some holy mission. Instead, in their pride, they rejected God. In their greed, they went out to steal from other nations. Their method was violence.
Successful? Oh yes, they were succeeding in their tyranny. Gaining wealth and power. But God gave them a stern warning:
Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house, to set his nest on high, to be safe from the reach of harm! You have devised shame for your house by cutting off many peoples; you have forfeited your life.
Habakkuk 2:9-10
But why should the great Babylon listen to the prophet from some small neighbour nation? After all, the Chaldeans had their own gods. Surely this sudden rise to power was a sign that their gods were stronger and greater than anything Judah had to offer!
But Yahweh mocks the false gods of Babylon:
What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it, a metal image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation when he makes speechless idols! Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, Awake; to a silent stone, Arise! Can this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in it. But Yahweh is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.
Habakkuk 2:18-20
The foolishness of walking into a pagan temple and trusting in a metal image! But let’s see the temple of Yahweh in our mind’s eye. Lamps, incense, a curtain – but no image of metal or wood or gold. Instead, the presence of the invisible God, transcendent, apart from His creation, all-powerful Lord.
This passage might remind you of Psalm 46:10 – “Be still, and know that I am God” (a verse we talked about last year). Not so much a call to quiet meditation, but a violent command to stop foolish war against God and His people.
The Lord of all is warning the earth of judgement, with a voice louder than all the confused conflicting shouts of the little creatures of the earth. Be QUIET! There is a King and He is in His temple.
In this Christmas carol, God’s demand for silence is a precursor to the coming of Christ. Yes, He was coming as a baby, but don’t be fooled – His is Lord of all.
Let all mortal flesh keep silence, And with fear and trembling stand; Ponder nothing earthly minded, For with blessing in His hand, Christ our God to earth descendeth, Our full homage to demand.
Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence
He comes with blessing – but it is blessing for those who recognize Him for who He is – Lord of all. And so we all called to worship – to give our “full homage”. That is, the allegiance and honour that we owe Him as King.
Tyranny and greed may have its day. But tyrants are truly on “the wrong side of history”. Look! The King descends to take His earthly throne.
