Stand firm

Most Macedonians are, by identification, Orthodox Christians.  Hundreds of churches and monasteries dot the cities, towns, and villages of Macedonia, testifying to this faith.  They are hundreds of years old, if not older, and attest to the tradition, culture, and faith of Macedonians through the centuries. I find all of this both reassuring and an opportunity for reflection.

As Macedonians prepare to celebrate Christmas, let me recall a bit of wisdom in the Bible’s Old Testament.  In Isaiah 7:9, we read “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.”  There is an extensive background story to this verse, and it is found in the Old Testament book of 2 Kings, chapter 16.  There, we read that the King of Judah, King Ahaz, was about to be attacked by the combined forces of the allied king of Israel and the king of Aram (Syria) (the Jewish people were, by this time, divided into two states, Judah, and Israel). King Ahaz of Judah was fearful, but the old prophet Isaiah brought him a message of hope: Isaiah told King Ahaz that the attack on Judah would fail, saying “Be careful, keep calm, and don’t be afraid…Do not lose heart.” 

King Ahaz, however, was fearful.  And he did not listen to the wisdom of Isaiah, who was, after all, speaking on behalf of God Himself.  So King Ahaz allied himself with the wicked king of Assyria, King Tiglath-Pileser.  King Ahaz gave the king of Assyria, Tiglath-Pileser, a foreign king who worshipped foreign gods, gold and silver from the treasury of Judah.  King Ahaz told King Tiglath-Pileser “I am your servant and vassal. Come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Aram and of the king of Israel, who are attacking me.” And then King Ahaz visited King Tiglath-Pileser in his capital city of Damascus.  There, King Ahaz saw the altar that King Tiglath-Pileser used to worship his gods and sacrifice to his gods.  And King Ahaz admired the altar and copied it and put the new, pagan copy, in his own temple, violating King Ahaz’s covenant with God.

The beginning of 2 Kings, chapter 16, starts in this way (verses 2 and 3): “Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God. He followed the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire, engaging in the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites.”

Some kings of Israel and Judah were good, some were bad.  Just like us moderns and our leaders.

But there is agency involved here. We are not compelled to follow the ways of the world; we have a choice in this.  We can choose to stand firm in what we know to be true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and good and in doing so, to stand firm in the faith.  Or we can reject what is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and good and in doing so, fall.

This Christmas, I hope you reflect on these things: what is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and good.  Reflect on what the birth of Jesus Christ means for you as an individual, and for humanity. And then think about that other holiday we celebrate a few months from now – Easter – and the death and then resurrection of Jesus Christ and what that means for you as an individual, and for humanity.

And remember: if you believe and stand firm in your faith then you will live a life well-lived.  I am not saying you will have material riches and blessings or that your life will be trouble-free, but you will have the greatest gift of all – God’s love and peace.  And that is worth more than you can possibly imagine.

Merry Christmas, Macedonia!