Pastor Roggelin's Newsletter at Zion Church of Baltimore

Als tiefes Schweigen das All umfing und die Nacht bis zur Mitte gelangt war, da sprang dein allmächtiges Wort vom Himmel, vom königlichen Thron herab, als harter Krieger mitten in das dem Verderben geweihte Land.

When peaceful stillness compassed everything and the night in its swift course was half spent, your all-powerful word, from heaven’s royal throne bounded, a fierce warrior, into the doomed land.

Dear members and dear friends of ZION,

How did you choose the design of the Christmas cards you are sending this year? Did you look at the picture – or at the words inside? Do you like greens and candles, and, perhaps, Santa and reindeers – or do you prefer a manger scene? I for one always try to find something that conveys not just a general “holiday” sentiment, but the true message of Christmas.

It is not easy to make a good choice. Every year I sigh when I have to choose the bulletin covers for the Christmas services and the letterhead for this newsletter. So many designs border on tacky Kitsch. Now, there is something close to Kitsch in all our dealings with this season, and that has to do with our longing, our yearning. Advent is the season of longing. Kitsch is the quick answer to that – like sweet stuff, it gives you a nice sentimental feeling, but it does not really fill the need.

Take the words printed on the bottom of this letterhead: All is calm – All is bright. They come of course from Silent Night, that perennial favorite, and are John F. Young’s (1820-1885) creative translation of the line alles schläft, einsam wacht.

You can take them at face value, and either use them as some sort of spiritual tranquillizers, or you can get all upset when you look around and see the state of this world. Not much is calm, not much is bright. From the dismal situation in our schools and city neighborhoods, to war, violence and famine throughout the world - all is calm, all is bright can easily sound cynical to people suffering.

And yet (this is what faith is about – to claim the “and yet”/”dennoch”), the words of the hymn echo the old, archaic prophecy from the book of Wisdom. If you have an English bible it may be hard to find, because it is a book of the Apocrypha; books, Luther said, “which are not regarded as equal to the holy Scriptures, and yet are profitable and good to read.” The verse has been used in the Catholic and Lutheran traditions as introit for Christmas liturgies – in fact it is one of the oldest parts of the Christmas liturgy. It speaks of the truly cosmic dimension of what happened some two thousand years ago in a little town called Bethlehem.

What we are celebrating has truly affected everything. This is about God’s almighty word, coming to us in the middle of the night. The verse also affirms that when everything falls silent, God still speaks. He speaks to us through his word. And his word came to us in the child in the manger: Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah.

Now, the introit omits the last part of verse 15 about the word descending as “a fierce warrior, into the doomed land.” I kind of like those words, because they prevent us from becoming too sweet and sentimental in our Christmas celebration. The child in the manger would indeed be the fierce warrior coming into the doomed land. He would fight evil and demons, sin and suffering. “Stir up, we beseech thee, thy power, O Lord, and come” is our prayer through Advent. He is the one who can really, truly still our longing.

The mystery – and the key to faith over sentimentality – is that he fights so differently than those that have been considered mighty warriors through the ages. It is God’s wisdom to bring redemption to us, his children, through the child in the manger, the wandering preacher and healer, the man suffering and dying on the cross, the one raised from the dead.

All is calm – all is bright. The eyes of faith dare to affirm the truth of these words –in spite of everything. They see deeper and beyond, they see the Messiah in the child. Yes, they keep seeing what we all see – but they dare to see someone behind: God’s all-powerful word, Jesus Christ, descending to us and helping us to fight darkness and tumult within us and in our world.

Ihnen allen eine besinnliche Adventszeit und ein gesegnetes Weihnachtsfest!
- Have a blessed time of Advent and Christmas!

Your Pastor Dr Holger Roggelin

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