{"id":5115,"date":"2019-12-14T10:30:42","date_gmt":"2019-12-14T17:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/?p=5115"},"modified":"2019-12-14T11:14:35","modified_gmt":"2019-12-14T18:14:35","slug":"christmas-comfort-a-sermon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/?p=5115","title":{"rendered":"Christmas Comfort (a sermon)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Please click here for a pdf version of this document<\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Children who attend a religious service at least once a week\nscore higher on psychological well-being measurements and have lower risks of\nmental illness, writes psychoanalyst Erica Komisar in a recent Wall Street\nJournal<\/em> editorial titled: \u201cDon\u2019t believe in God? Lie to your children.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Writing \u201cpurely from a mental health perspective,\u201d Komisar commends\nthe comfort of \u201cbelief in God\u2014in a protective and guiding figure to rely on\nwhen times are tough.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A later letter to the editor by a psychiatrist chides Komisar\nfor promoting lying to one\u2019s children. He has a point. He notes there are many profound\nethical traditions that help raise well-adjusted children and comfort them in\nthe face of death. He offers a partial list of such traditions, including\nBuddhism, Confucianism, Stoicism, and secular humanism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do we preach and tell our children? We Christians also\nknow that mental health problems are as pervasive among us as among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John 14:27: \u201cPeace<\/strong> I leave with you; my peace I give\nyou; not as the world gives<\/strong> do I give to you. Let not your hearts be\ntroubled, neither let them be afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Philippians 4:7: \u201cAnd the peace<\/strong> of God, which\npasses all understanding<\/strong>, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The peace Christ gives is \u201cnot as the world gives.\u201d It is\nnot about feelings or emotions. Not about having religious experiences. Or\nmystical signs and miracles. It is not even about having a feeling of peace or being\nwell-adjusted. All these forms of peace are found the world around. Among us\nand in other religions. This is peace as the world gives. It is not nothing. We\nare concerned about good mental health and psychological well-being.\nNevertheless, this is not the peace Christ gives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul writes: \u201cIf Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile<\/strong>\nand you are still in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have<\/strong>\nperished.<\/strong> If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all\nmen most to be pitied<\/strong>\u201d (1 Cor 15:17-19). Paul is brutally honest. We are\nall a heartbeat away from death and on the way to nothingness. He goes on: But,\nbut, but \u2013 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut in fact Christ has been\nraised from the dead<\/strong>, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For\nas by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead\u2026.Christ\nthe first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the\nend, when he delivers<\/strong> the kingdom to God the Father after destroying<\/strong>\nevery rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put\nall his enemies under his feet<\/strong>. The last enemy<\/strong> to be destroyed<\/strong>\nis death\u201d (1 Cor 15:20-26).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the peace Christ gives: His peace is holy, that\nmeans it is beyond us. It is not a feeling. You don\u2019t have to feel a certain\nsomething. Experience a certain something. Or do a certain something. His peace\nis outside of us, in spite of us. As in infant baptism. The infant is not aware\nof what is happening. The infant has no \u201cappropriate\u201d feelings or emotions. Yet\nthe child is saved, given the peace that passes understanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, too, for us. Our salvation does not depend on our\nfeelings, our doings, our mental health, or lack of mental health. It is beyond\nour understanding and not dependent on anything we are, think, say, or do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lord of heaven and earth has come in the manger, the\ncross, the font to save us. Therefore we sing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comfort, comfort, ye my people, Speak ye peace, thus\nsaith our God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comfort those who sit in darkness Bowed beneath their\nsorrow\u2019s load.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of the peace that waits for them Speak ye to Jerusalem;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tell her that her sins I cover, And her warfare now is\nover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His comfort.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Children who attend a religious service at least once a week score higher on psychological well-being measurements and have lower risks of mental illness, writes psychoanalyst Erica Komisar in a recent Wall Street Journal editorial titled: \u201cDon\u2019t believe in God? Lie to your children.\u201d<\/p>\n

Writing \u201cpurely from a mental health perspective,\u201d Komisar commends the comfort of \u201cbelief in God\u2014in a protective and guiding figure to rely on when times are tough.\u201d<\/p>\n

A later letter to the editor by a psychiatrist chides Komisar for promoting lying to one\u2019s children. He has a point. He notes there are many profound ethical traditions that help raise well-adjusted children and comfort them in the face of death. He offers a partial list of such traditions, including Buddhism, Confucianism, Stoicism, and secular humanism.<\/p>\n

What do we preach and tell our children? We Christians also know that mental health problems are as pervasive among us as among others.<\/p>\n

John 14:27: \u201cPeace<\/strong> I leave with you; my peace I give you; not as the world gives<\/strong> do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n

Philippians 4:7: \u201cAnd the peace<\/strong> of God, which passes all understanding<\/strong>, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.\u201d<\/p>\n

The peace Christ gives is \u201cnot as the world gives.\u201d It is not about feelings or emotions. Not about having religious experiences. Or mystical signs and miracles. It is not even about having a feeling of peace or being well-adjusted. All these forms of peace are found the world around. Among us and in other religions. This is peace as the world gives. It is not nothing. We are concerned about good mental health and psychological well-being. Nevertheless, this is not the peace Christ gives.<\/p>\n

Paul writes: \u201cIf Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile<\/strong> and you are still in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.<\/strong> If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied<\/strong>\u201d (1 Cor 15:17-19). Paul is brutally honest. We are all a heartbeat away from death and on the way to nothingness. He goes on: But, but, but \u2013<\/p>\n

\n\u201cBut in fact Christ has been raised from the dead<\/strong>, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead\u2026.Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers<\/strong> the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet<\/strong>. The last enemy<\/strong> to be destroyed is death<\/strong>.\u201d (1 Cor 15:20-26).<\/p>\n

This is the peace Christ gives: His peace is holy, that means it is beyond us. It is not a feeling. You don\u2019t have to feel a certain something. Experience a certain something. Or do a certain something. His peace is outside of us, in spite of us. As in infant baptism. The infant is not aware of what is happening. The infant has no \u201cappropriate\u201d feelings or emotions. Yet the child is saved, given the peace that passes understanding.<\/p>\n

So, too, for us. Our salvation does not depend on our feelings, our doings, our mental health, or lack of mental health. It is beyond our understanding and not dependent on anything we are, think, say, or do.<\/p>\n

The Lord of heaven and earth has come in the manger, the cross, the font to save us. Therefore we sing:<\/p>\n

Comfort, comfort, ye my people, Speak ye peace, thus saith our God.
\nComfort those who sit in darkness Bowed beneath their sorrow\u2019s load.
\nOf the peace that waits for them Speak ye to Jerusalem;
\nTell her that her sins I cover, And her warfare now is over.<\/p>\n

His comfort.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5115"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5115\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5142,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5115\/revisions\/5142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}