Wrapped in swaddling clothes: What does that mean?

As we continue reading Scriptures related to the birth of Jesus Christ, the Savior, we recognize that a series of awe-inspiring circumstances intersect in a miraculous manner. In one such account, we find a more complete unfolding of the narrative in Luke 2:11-14. Taken from that passage, the Verse of the Day for December 23, 2022, is revised and re-posted here:

Luke 2:11-14 (NKJV):

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.

This concluding passage contains a reference to an ancient custom associated with birth, that is, Mary wrapped the child in “swaddling cloths” or as the King James Version renders “swaddling clothes” or “swaddling strips” in the New Living Translation. The practice was for a child, particularly a child of royal lineage, to be salted and swaddled. Shortly after birth, the child would be washed with water into which a pinch of salt had been added, symbolizing a covenant of salt, whereby the words spoken by the child would be words of truth, always seasoned with salt. The child would then be wrapped in swaddling bands or swaddling clothes, strips of fine linen to represent that the child would grow up to walk straight and tall.

Bishop KC Pillai, a converted Hindu who embraced Christianity, wrote extensively on Eastern customs and manners, known as Orientalisms, as revealed in the Bible. He points outs distinctive features of the custom of swaddling and notes that when Israel strayed from the precepts of God and walked in idolatry, their abominable practices were described in this way in Ezekiel 16:1-4, indicating how far they had strayed from the precepts of Jehovah:

Ezekiel 16:1-4 (NKJV):

Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

² Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations,

³ And say, thus saith the Lord God unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother a Hittite.

⁴ And as for thy nativity, on the day you were born thy navel was not cut, neither were you washed in water to supple thee; you were not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.

Swaddling continued to be practiced beyond Biblical times, as a blog entry from needleprint.blogspot.com commented on the elaborately embroidered bands made for young prince Federigo, Duke of Urbino, a notable 15^th Century figure from the Italian Renaissance, pictured here:

In addition, when the angels announced to the shepherds that the Savior had been born, they were given a sign that established the truth of their words:

And this will be a sign for you [by which you will recognize Him]: you will find a Baby wrapped in [swaddling] cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:12 AMP).

The timing of the arrival of the shepherds had to be precise since the swaddling clothes were left on the child for only for a few minutes. The shepherds could not arrive on the scene before the swaddling had begun, nor could they arrive after the custom had been completed. They had to be in the right place at the right time.  As we so clearly see, the account of the birth of Jesus Christ abounds with “signs, wonders, and miracles,” one of which involves his being “wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger.”

“He’s Here” by Eddie James offers a powerful, musical rendering of the account of the Savior who was “born of a virgin, wrapped in swaddling clothes. . .”

Peace is Here

This past Sunday, December 18, 2022, Pastor Telos Fuller, of Grace Covenant Church, Chantilly, VA, delivered another life-changing message: “Peace is Here.” He spoke of “the peace of God” and “peace with God.” I recall this definition of the peace of God: “a state of untroubled, undisturbed well-being. It is an inner reality. . . the peace of God indicates being free from anxiety and care; it is not dependent upon outside conditions. The peace of God is only possible through the Prince of Peace, as Pastor Telos began with John 14:25-27 where Jesus is preparing his disciples for his ultimate departure from this life and offers words of comfort:

²⁵ “These things I have spoken to you, while I am still with you. ²⁶ But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. ²⁷ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

Pastor Telos went on to explain that as believers we have the peace of God, as Romans 5:1 declares:

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

If we have peace with God, then we have the peace of God. Colossians 3:15 reiterates this message:

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.

I also thought of this passage from Philippians 4:6-7 in the New Living Translation:

⁶ Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. ⁷ Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

The teaching concluded with a reminder that God invites us into the peace that only Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace can give. The peace of God is not the absence of problems, but it is the presence of Jesus in the midst of any situation we face.

Isaiah 26:3 encourages us with these words.

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!

As I reviewed my notes and considered deeply the message: “Peace is Here,” I thought of this original poem to conclude this entry:

Hold Your Peace

So shall they fear
The name of the Lord from the west,
And His glory from the rising of the sun;
When the enemy comes in like a flood,
The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.

Isaiah 59:19

The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.

Exodus 14:14

These days when the enemy enters as a flood

With distress and intense pressure on every side,

Despite signs of defeat, the Lord God is still good.

In the thick of battle in peace we shall abide.

The Spirit of the Lord raises a bold standard:

The Lord of Hosts bears His arm; as Jehovah Nissi,

He covers us with His love, though foes may have slandered.

He displays His banner for all the world to see:

Faithful Adonai has never slept nor slumbered.

God is not slack but hastens to perform His Word.

Despite outward signs, we are never outnumbered,

For we know that the battle belongs to the Lord.

On the battlefield, fierce attacks seem only to increase,

But as God said to Moses, “Stand still and hold your peace!”  

Here is a music video from Brianne Danter, a musical reminder entitled “Peace:”

Reflections on Psalm 1 and my first psalm

During my morning devotional today, I thought of Psalm 1, the first passage of Scripture I ever committed to memory. Here is the First Psalm 1 from the Amplified Bible:

Blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked [following their advice and example],
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit [down to rest] in the seat of scoffers (ridiculers).
² 
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And on His law [His precepts and teachings] he [habitually] meditates day and night.
³ 
And he will be like a tree firmly planted [and fed] by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season;
Its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers [and comes to maturity].

⁴ 
The wicked [those who live in disobedience to God’s law] are not so,
But they are like the chaff [worthless and without substance] which the wind blows away.
⁵ 
Therefore the wicked will not stand [unpunished] in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
⁶ 
For the Lord knows and fully approves the way of the righteous,
But the way of the wicked shall perish.

As I completed reading the passage, an original psalm, a blues sonnet, written more than 15 years ago also came to mind:

Talk about a Man

Psalm 1

Talk about a man who show is blessed—I’m the man.

Talk about a man who show is blessed—I’m the man.

At first, I couldn’t, but now I see God’s master plan.

To study the Word of Life show is my delight.

To study the Word of Life show is my delight.

I’m all the time thinking about it—day and night.

Planted by the rivers of water, my roots reach deep.

Planted by the rivers of water, my roots reach deep.

By the still waters, the Good Shepherd leads his sheep.

In God, all His promises are yes and amen.       

In God, all His promises are yes and amen.

I have been so blessed since I can remember when.

The Word of God soothes my soul like a healing balm.   

I’m the man they talking about in that First Psalm.

                                                                 

I would like to comment on Psalm 1 and the first “psalm” I ever wrote as a poet strongly influenced by David, the Psalmist whose work continues to delight me.  In my freshman composition course at Purdue University in 1961, we were given this prompt to discuss in an in-class essay: “May I tell you what delights me?” I completed the assignment by making a list of items that bring me pleasure: specific kinds of music, a variety of foods, certain literary works, and other delights. The professor asked for volunteers to share what they had written, and I offered to read mine. When I finished, she said, “Oh, you’ve written a poem.” I responded, “I did?” In my mind, I only shared “a few of my favorite things.” (By the way, there was a performance of the Broadway musical, “The Sound of Music,” during the time I was enrolled at Purdue.) Years later when I began to acknowledge my poetic inclination and attempted to refine my efforts, I learned that I had actually written a free-verse catalog poem in the style of Walt Whitman and other 20th-century writers. Although that experience occurred more than 60 years ago, the Psalms of David continue to be near the top of my list of “what delights me.”

In a recent blog post I concluded with this song of worship which seems an appropriate way to close today’s entry:

“My Delight is in You Lord,” featuring Christy Nockels:

Emmanuel (God with us): Song of the season and every day

The Verse of the Day for December 11, 2022, is a revision of a previous blog entry.  This verse relates to an Old Testament prophecy concerning the birth of Jesus, the Messiah found in Isaiah 7:14 (NLT):

All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us).

In the Gospel of Matthew, the focal point is a portrait of Jesus Christ, the King. Chapter 1 provides an account of his birth, opening with the genealogy or record of the ancestors of the Messiah. The following section discusses the birth of Jesus, the Messiah:

¹⁸ This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.

²⁰ As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. ²¹ And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

  Matthew 1:22-23 (NLT) establishes the fulfillment of that prophetic word spoken in Isaiah 7:14:

²² All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:

²³ “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
    She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,
    which means ‘God is with us.’”

The two passages from Isaiah and Matthew related to the birth of the Savior by a virgin are only two of the more than three hundred prophecies concerning the Lord Jesus Christ and his first coming to earth, all of which came to pass with pinpoint accuracy. The odds of one single word coming to pass are astronomical, let alone more than 300.

We recognize, of course, what was said to Jeremiah, that God will hasten to perform His Word, so we see that when God speaks a word prophetically that it always comes to pass. Remember these words of the Lord spoken in Isaiah 55:11 (in the Amplified Bible):

So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

One of my favorite songs of the season celebrating the Savior’s birth is “O Come, O Come, Immanuel.” The popular Christmas song is a translation of the Latin text (“Veni, veni, Emmanuel”) by John Mason Neale and Henry Sloane Coffin in the mid-19th century, offered here by Selah:

A variation on the theme of the coming of Jesus Christ is this song “Emmanuel,” offered by Norman Hutchins:

The songs of the season are constant reminders that, indeed, God is with us.

Second Sunday of Advent: Celebrating Jesus, the Light of the World

The Verse of the Day for December 4, 2022, provides another metaphor Jesus uses to describe himself occurring in John 8:12 in the New Living Testament:

[Jesus, the Light of the World] Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

A number of biblical references speak of Jesus Christ in terms of light. The first chapter of John opens with this reference to light:

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷ This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. ⁸ He was not that Light but was sent to bear witness of that Light. ⁹ That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. (John 1:6-9)

One of the remarkable aspects of light is that light dispels darkness. If the smallest candle can dispel or penetrate the depths of darkness, how much greater is the light provided by “the light of the world.” Concerning the coming Messiah, it was prophesied that “those who sat in darkness have seen a great light.” Indeed, those who follow Jesus will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.

Today, November 4, 2022, is the second Sunday of Advent, the season celebrating the Earthly birth of Jesus Christ, as well as preparation and anticipation of the second coming of Christ. During this time of year, I think of the following poem, an original psalm, dedicated to a group of missionaries who were sent to local areas to carry the light and introduce Jesus Christ:

Light of the World

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on

 a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp,

 and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand;

 and it gives light to all who are in the house.

 Let your light so shine before men, that they

 may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”        

Matthew 5:14-16

A call comes ringing. . .     

The light that from creation split the dark

still shines today.  The same sun that once graced

Eden’s green place still warms the earth each day.

Without the light, there is no life, no hope

For growth, no power to live and give birth.

Without the light, there is only the night

To swallow the land and smother all life.

Somewhere someone sits in darkness, crying. . .

Send the light. . .

The love of Christ constrains us to go forth,

To shine as beacons and carry the love,

To offer shelter from stormy places,

To light the path of everyone who longs

To be at home in God’s family room.

 Send the light. . .

With torch held high, let us stand upon the Rock:

a lantern, a lampstand, a beacon, a lighthouse,

a city set on a hill that cannot be hid

Let it shine. . .

Though the darkness thickens, let our lights shine.

Let us speak God’s Word and echo God’s voice that

First spoke light into being, commanding it to shine

So let it shine. . .

So let it shine. . .

So let it shine. . .

forever more.

The lyrics to the familiar gospel song sung so often during this time of the year also come to mind: “Jesus, the Light of the World.”

Isaac Cates and Ordained offer a moving rendition of this classic gospel number featuring Margaret Rainey and Kami Woodard to close out the second Sunday in Advent.

Celebrating the Life of Lonnie Johnson: Ordinary Man of Extraordinary Deeds

Today, December 2, 2022, would have been the 100th birthday of my father, Lonnie Johnson, who passed away in 1996. I would like to share a few words of reflection upon the life of Lonnie Johnson: An Ordinary Man of Extraordinary Deeds.

Born in rural Arkansas in 1922, Lonnie Johnson eventually moved to Gary, Indiana where he met my mother, the lovely Jessie Marie Garrett, whom he married. In 1992, my parents celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary in a special ceremony reaffirming their marriage vows. I had the absolute joy of officiating on that beautiful occasion. For a man to remain married to the same woman for more than fifty years is indeed an extraordinary accomplishment, but this is just one feature of the man whose life we celebrate.

My father did not have much formal education. Although he didn’t complete high school, he knew the value of education and instilled the importance of education in his children and grandchildren. My sister Cheryl has a Master’s degree and is a retired schoolteacher. I am a Professor of English who has taught for more than 40 years at the collegiate level. Unquestionably, we would not be where we are today without the support of our parents, but especially our father who worked very hard to put us through undergraduate school. During my second senior year of a five-year program, my sister and I were both in college at the same time, yet I never heard him complain. For forty years he worked as a crane operator in the Billet Mill at US Steel. For him, hard work was a way of life, and he passed that value on to me and my sister.

Not only did my father and mother support my sister and me in our college years, but my parents also made provisions to provide support for their grandchildren when each of them graduated from high school. In a real sense, they established a kind of scholarship fund–The Lonnie and Jessie Johnson Grandkids Scholarship fund. My Dad used to collect cans and put the money into the fund for his grandchildren. Among his greatest sources of pride were his children and grandchildren: my sister’s two sons Keith and Brian and my two daughters, Melissa and Angela.

When I reflect upon my father, I recall that he was “always there.”  Just as he was proud of his family, he was also proud of his home. My family and I lived in various parts of the country, and Mother and Dad would visit from time to time. After a few days, Dad would get restless and want to get back home. He loved his home. During the time that my sister and I were in college, my parents were purchasing a home: in fact, my parents purchased two homes–another extraordinary accomplishment for a man such as my father.

When I think of my father, I think of a good man who was always doing good. I recall the words of John Wesley who challenged Christians with these words: “Do all the good you can, to all the people you can, in all the places you can, at all times you can, as long as ever you can.”  I believe that the good men do lives on after them. It has been said that the greatest gift you can give is a good example. If that is the case, then Lonnie Johnson has left us an incredible gift. I know that his legacy lives on in my sister and me, and our children, and grandchildren, and in generations to come, as we follow his example of the strength of character and integrity, his quiet strength and diligence.

I close with a poem written in tribute to my father and recited at his memorial service.

Plainsong

for Lonnie Johnson

1922-1996     

Your plainsong I know by heart,                          

a hymn stanza learned with ease,            

lined out like the flow of chanted words,

syllables fused into a single sound:

“I-love-the-Lord-He-heard-my-cry”

raised and repeated over countless Sunday mornings.

Your plainsong I continue to sing, expressed not in words

but in faithful deeds borne of a heart to serve.

Your rock-solid presence like a mantle clock keeping time

even beyond man’s three score years and ten.

Your plainsong resonates and flows through my being.

I sing with the strength of character, integrity,

unconsciously humming refrains, improvising

common melodies with grace notes, making my own

your plainsong that will not let go of me.

Many times when I think of my father, I am grateful to God that Lonnie Johnson was a good father, a good gift from God our Father, who alone is good. This contemporary worship song comes to mind: a fitting way to close this tribute:

“Good, Good Father” by Chris Tomlin: