The Battle of Iwo Jima began on February 19 and lasted for more than a month. Near the end of the battle, and contributing not only to that victory but ultimately to victory in the war, an American flag was raised on Mount Suribachi. Joe Rosenthal’s picture of the flag raising is the most reproduced photographic image in history.

Almost 6,800 Marines were killed in action on Iwo Jima, giving the “last full measure of devotion.” On the positive side, it is estimated that more than 24,000 American airmen were saved by their sacrifice.

Half way around the world, on the same day, men from the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division were fighting in Italy. The 10th Mountain is the only division sized unit (10,000-15,000) formed specifically for fighting in harsh weather and terrain. These men led the way for brave Brazilian Expeditionary fighters, climbing 2,000 feet at night to assault Riva Ridge, taking out the German artillery that had been entrenched there and winning a battle that was a key in bringing down the Gothic Line in Italy.

Here in Silicon Valley, 66 years later, we have been known to complain when the weather is less than perfect for more than two days in a row, or if we have to take a detour around the route we know best to get a latte at our favorite coffee shop. No one is trying to kill us, and we aren’t climbing a mountain at night to face the enemy, so it is hard for us to wrap our minds around these historic events.

Likewise it is sometimes difficult for us to grasp the greatest sacrifice ever made by one for many, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who climbed a hill called Calvary. He did not plant a flag there, but he himself was raised up on a cross. He did not break through the enemy defense line, but he broke the bonds of death.

I’m confident the airmen who landed on Iwo Jima after it was under American control were thankful that they did not have to ditch their planes and crew into the Pacific. I’m certain the allied forces in Europe were relieved that the last line of defense for the German army in Italy had finally fallen, making the outcome of the war sure and the end near. It is more than fitting that we remember those particular Marines on this particular day, thanking God for those who gave much for us.

And while we’re at it, we might just say a word of thanks for Jesus, who gave his all on his very own mountain.

“Chinese parents believe that they know what is best for their children and therefore override all of their children’s own desires and preferences.”

Although I also have Chinese parents, I was raised by a looser standard than Chua’s (my mom does agree no one should play any instrument other than the piano), so I’m more inclined to consider my children’s desires and preferences.  However, I do resonate with parts of what Chua says here:

“…children on their own never want to work, which is why it is crucial to override their preferences.”

As children grow from being merely incapable of making good choices to sometimes rebelling against good choices, the parent often needs to impose the good choices for a time.  This is common when it comes to health, safety, manners, etc., but it also applies to our spiritual lives.

For instance, some folks want to expose their children to various religions and let them make their own choice.  Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).  While my children should know that different people have different beliefs, I also want them to know what I believe is the truth, and we have brought our children up to follow Jesus.

The same goes for various spiritual habits, such as going to church, reading the bible, praying (even aloud, even in ACTS format!), contributing to the offering, respecting elders (an important Asian value), and visiting the sick.  How many children, or even adults, find it a challenge to do these things?  But practice and perseverance help us overcome the challenges, and we can be blessed and bless others as well.

As Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

The end-of-the-year holidays in the U.S. used to be more separated—we would finish with one before we started the next. Back then, Halloween came clearly before Thanksgiving, which came clearly before Christmas. This year I saw Christmas decorations, including artificial trees, for sale before Halloween. Thanksgiving, I fear, may get squeezed out all together.

I suppose that makes sense, because the retailers (except grocers) don’t get much revenue from Thanksgiving, so the earlier they can start selling for Christmas, the more revenue they have an opportunity to make.

One thing that hasn’t changed about holidays, though, is that different Christians view them in various, and often conflicting, ways.

The two most important holidays on the Christian calendar, at least from my perspective, are Easter and Christmas. I want to celebrate the resurrection of my Lord, and I also find it desirable to celebrate his birth. Even the world celebrates them both, although the world gives more emphasis to Christmas–especially the whole gold, frankincense, and a shiny new Lexus thing.

There are not a few Christians, however, who perhaps lose much of the joy and opportunity that come with those celebrations because they are concerned about how, or why, the world celebrates them.

Many of their arguments are based on the pagan origins of parts of Easter and Christmas, and the obvious tie in to witchcraft and other evils for Halloween. The name Easter, for instance, comes from the old English word Eastre, which apparently came from a Germanic calendar month called Eosturmonath, which came from the name of a pagan goddess of fertility, Ostara (spellings vary), who, a long, long time ago, was celebrated in the spring.

Simply linking with the name of a pagan goddess is enough to turn off many Christians, and some today refuse to use the term Easter at all, calling that day Resurrection Sunday instead. (The name “Sunday” also has pagan origins, but that seems to be OK.)

Interestingly, by A.D. 725, according to a leading historian of the time, the Easter pagan celebrations were essentially gone and had been replaced with a Christian celebration. Here’s a quote from Carla Nayland, who has done some research on the topic:

The fourth month of the year, corresponding approximately to the Roman and modern month of April, was called Eosturmonath. Bede, writing in 725, tells us:
Eosturmonath has a name which is now translated “Paschal month”, and which was once called after a goddess of theirs named Eostre, in whose honour feasts were celebrated in that month. Now they designate that Paschal season by her name, calling the joys of the new rite by the time-honoured name of the old observance.
–Bede, On the Reckoning of Time, Chapter 15. Translated by Faith Wallis.

In other words, early Christians co-opted the name Easter, taking it for their own and re-defining it as Christian. To some, however, the fact that it has been Christian for at least 1300 years seems to bear less weight than the fact that Easter was originally a pagan celebration.

Of course exactly the same kind of thing happens with Christmas (search for “pagan origins of Christmas” and you’ll get more than 100,000 hits), a time when people around the world remember and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. With Christmas, though, it’s more about the date (December 25) than the name.

Halloween has its own special place among Christians, many of whom fear sending some kind of mixed message by participating in any Halloween events and who recommend that other Christians stay away from it altogether.

In my own experience, those Christians who decry Easter and Christmas for their pagan origins, or Halloween because it had roots in an ancient Druid festival, or because it seems to celebrate witchcraft, are well-meaning, sincere, caring brothers and sisters. I personally do not subscribe to their position on all these things, but I get it.

So how do we deal with these questions?
Paul addressed some aspects of these kinds of differences between Christians in at least two of his letters, Romans and 1 Corinthians. The Romans passage (chapter 14) may directly address questions about holidays when it says, “One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind” (verse 5). The bottom line: these things are not the thing itself, so don’t destroy the kingdom of God over them.

In 1 Corinthians 10 Paul writes about meat sacrificed to idols, an argument that is very similar to the “pagan origins” argument. Some Christians apparently would never buy the meat in the meat market because it might have come from a lamb or bull that had been sacrificed to an idol (“burnt offering” is just another name for cooked meat). The bottom line: it’s not a problem, but don’t throw your right to eat that meat into another believer’s face, thereby potentially damaging his faith.

Another reason to participate in Halloween (the name is actually quite Christian) and Easter and Christmas is that it gives us an opportunity to turn the conversations we have with those outside the church heavenward.

Holidays are always part of the conversation (“What are you doing for Thanksgiving?”) and we can always bring Christ into the picture (“I’m being thankful for all the blessings God has given our family, especially Jesus”). Christmas and Easter are even easier.

Finally, God can redeem anything, and if we are like him we can redeem many things. As Joseph said to his brothers, “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.”

When the PACC kids had a Halloween party in East Palo Alto this year, they were able to invite neighborhood kids who otherwise would have been roaming the streets in search of free candy and potentially in search of mischief. Instead, they participated in a fun, wholesome, God-honoring time with healthy snacks and strong adult supervision.

Christian participation in and celebration of holidays has been a point of debate for more than 17 centuries, for all kinds of reasons, and I believe that will continue to be the case until Jesus returns. As brothers and sisters in Christ, we should still be able to live with each other and our differences. If I’m in your house and you aren’t celebrating Halloween because you think it is evil, I’m not celebrating either. If you are celebrating, so am I. That’s not tolerance, that’s brotherhood.

The challenge to brotherhood and unity comes, of course, when we are more concerned about being right than we are about being righteous.

Rocks get a bad rap, but they aren’t all bad!  Consider this scripture:

When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: 
”Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”

“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

So okay, maybe rocks are still considered bottom of the heap.  But are we better than a rock?

Lots of folks are quiet at church.  Maybe it’s personal preference, maybe it’s what they consider proper decorum for church.  Silence is golden, that sort of thing… But NOT when we’re praising God!  Worship is not a spectator sport!

Praising God is a good thing to do, most importantly because God is worthy!  For ourselves, focusing on God in praise helps us have a deeper knowledge and appreciation of who God is.  Praising God with other Christians helps us to articulate that praise, and appreciate God from multiple points of view.  Getting comfortable talking about God with other Christians makes it easier to talk about God with non-Christians.  And what do we think we’ll be doing in heaven, anyway?

What’s stopping you from crying out?

You probably also know about the bounty for Osama Bin Laden, currently “up to $25 million for information leading directly to” his apprehension or conviction, but you probably don’t know there is an even higher bounty for a much more outrageous middle-eastern cleric.

This one is not offered by the federal government of the United States, it is offered by radical Islamists, and it is for the death of a Christian.

The target is Father Zakaria Botros, an Egyptian who has been exiled for preaching Jesus over the air waves. It is estimated that he is watched by 50 million Muslims each time he is on the air via satellite, and he is on the air almost every day.

Some believe that he is at the top of the Jihadist’s most wanted list, and the price on his head is reported to be $60 million. He says he is not afraid to die, because he knows Jesus Christ, and he cannot and will not stop preaching, because the Muslims need to hear the gospel message. Being a disciple of Jesus well may cost this brother his life, but it doesn’t matter—he’s already given his life to Jesus.

When we count the cost of discipleship, is our math as simple as that?

Then it struck me, if I could be as dependent on God, as Arthur was on his master, how would that change my life?

What if I suddenly realized that every meal was only going to come from one place (God, not the refrigerator)?

What if I suddenly realized that any meaningful loving I craved was only going to come from one place (God, not worldly desires)?

What if I suddenly realized that any joy/peace in my life was only going to come from one place (God, not a temporary escape)?

Arthur put all of his attention, his focus, toward his master.  I suggested that it was as if he was worshipping his master, but that doesn’t quite work, as Arthur really has no concept of a “god”.  But another way to put it is devotion.

Jesus said that to really understand the Kingdom of Heaven, we have to be like / think like little children, be more pure and simple.  I think He might have considered dogs for His analogy, but dogs were such low-life in His day, that probably would have offended His listeners even more!

But today we love our dogs, and they love us.  In fact, I am beginning to realize that we should very much strive to be more like dogs (in the good sense), learning from how they depend and rely on, are devoted to and love their masters.

From here on out, I’m going to try to be more devoted to my Master, like Arthur is to his.  Everything I need comes from my Master.  I only need to turn to my Master for the loving that I crave.  Joy and peace, these too, come from my Master.  God, my Master.

And the best part is, I can worship Him too, because he is my God.  And He is my Father, which makes me His child, and that’s way better than being His dog.  Now, isn’t that cool?

How do you react when confusion sets in?  For me, as time pressures rise, my stress rises much more quickly with the amount of confusion, usually making things only worse.

How do you resolve your confusion?  Do you look for a “Good Samaritan” (please help me!)?  Just start pressing as many buttons as possible (just try something — anything)?  Take it out on the offending thing and strike it?!

Jesus’ disciples were confused a lot; in fact, one could consider them confused nearly the whole time they were with Jesus (except for rare divine moments), up until when the Holy Spirit was given to them at a special celebration called Pentecost.  After that, it seemed they were thankfully no longer confused.  (They had their disagreements, but individuals didn’t seem confused as to what they should do next!)

Was Jesus ever confused?  It’s hard to imagine our God incarnate (who made us all!), ever not understanding something.  Yet the thing that confounded Him most was our own thick-headedness.  He would cry out — “Oh you of little faith!”, and  “How can you be so dull?”  Creation didn’t puzzle Him, but people confounded Him frequently!  People confound me, too, so I shouldn’t feel too bad about that.

How did Jesus deal with his confusion?  Is there a lesson here? Patience. And a lot of it.  As Jesus was infinite in everything, He was certainly infinite in patience.  He took time to explain things (again!), and sometimes, when all the explaining in the world wouldn’t work, He just moved on, knowing they would “get it” eventually.

Should the gift of the Holy Spirit clarify everything for us, as it did the disciples?  How I wish it would, and how I wish it did.  Maybe the Holy Spirit doesn’t clarify everything to me because I don’t welcome Him in sufficiently well.  The disciples reacted to that Gift by becoming one purpose, spreading God’s Word.  I reacted to that gift too, but retain many purposes — work, family, home, and oh yes, spreading God’s Word.  Maybe I’d be a lot less confused if I focused more clearly only on God’s will. Maybe then, the Holy Spirit would make clear all the confusion in my life.

When’s the last time you lifted up your confusion to the One who can clarify all?

On the other hand, if you try to pen in an angry bull with a man and a red cape, or if you set a large hoop aflame and jump a car through it, people don’t want to be close at all but stand at a distance with rapt attention from our tense excitement.

But in church, there isn’t a wall of glass separating us from something so exciting to be so close.  And there’s certainly nothing worthy of fearful respect that requires a safety distance.

Really?

Some may argue that there is a difference between entertainment and worship, and I totally agree.  Still, shouldn’t worshipping God generate excitement and fear greater than our man-made creations?

The God of the universe has sacrificed His one and only Son so that He can be near us.  What a little sacrifice is it for us to be “near” to Him?  On the other hand, the Creator is the only One who commands the heavens and earth — certainly power to be fearful, and in awe of.  Anyone in their right mind would give that kind of power a little space.

Maybe God’s too common.  Things that are common in this world (like sand) are worth little.

Maybe God’s too invisible.  What’s the point of being “near” something you can’t see?

Maybe God’s too loving.  With arms as wide open and as big as God’s, who could be afraid?

But isn’t that the point?  He loves us so much, He wants us to be near Him so deeply, and He’s fearfully and wonderfully powerful.  God is all these things, and So Much More.  How much more need we be convinced that God is All?  Better yet, God IS.

When’s the last time you really sacrificed yourself to be near Him?

I thought about flying down to San Antonio to see if I could turn in my 9th edition The Macintosh Bible, but I suspect only the Mac faithful would think of it as a holy text.

Turns out this started back in 2005, and that year it made a big media splash, with Tucker Carlson of MSNBC both reporting on the story and debating a bit with the then president of Atheist Agenda, Thomas Jackson.

This year it seems that several folks took umbrage at this little annual parlor trick, from feminist groups to Muslims to Christians, and protests  and protesters made their presence known in the area. That made the news, and there wasn’t much else happening today, so this tempest in a teapot story made it all the way from Texas to my radio in California.

The best suggestion I’ve heard about how to respond came from Keith Mitchell, one of the elders at PACC, who said we ought to trade Bibles for porn. No doubt someone somewhere in the country, perhaps even in Texas, is already doing that.

But what I found most curious is that people would willingly give up light to receive darkness. Most people, it seems to me, are trying to find their way out of the dark, not descend more deeply into it. Of course my perspective may be skewed by the fact that I’m a preacher, but don’t you find it the same?

In the 2005 interview with Mr. Carlson, Mr. Jackson said they thought of it as “…trading something that’s very, very bad [a Bible] for something that’s only moderately bad [pornographic material].” Apparently even his goal was to move people toward more light, but if so this really is a case of the blind leading the blind, about which Jesus said, “And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

When that happens, we’ll be here with a rope, ready to pull them both out into the daylight.