Christmas Greeting 2020

Again, this update is a replacement for the traditional Christmas card. As with many of our family and friends we have replaced physical cards with electronic greetings. I trust you and your family are doing well. Our family wishes you blessings in the New Year! This has been the year of the COVID-chaos. All that we had anticipated in 2020 was altered, much like your plans I suspect. We had anticipated this year to be milestone celebrations – 50th wedding anniversary; Golden anniversary of our graduation from college; the graduation from high school of our 1st grandchild; etc. Several special trips were planned. Some events still happened, but looked very different than what we had first envisioned. 

     Our anniversary was celebrated on the shores of Lake Ontario at Sackets Harbor. The Gleason and Reid family met there for several days while living in separate accommodations. But we did get together for an anniversary cake, hiking, swimming, and lots of laughs. 

     Kathryn, our oldest granddaughter, had her graduation at a drive-in movie theater where she had the honor of giving the salutatorian address. It was a more interesting venue than a High School auditorium! Mostly we have had to lay low due to our PA governor’s imaginative mandates. Plan and cancel were the primary activities of the time. We had several brief visits with the Gleasons. It was not as easy to get to Andy’s because of required testing or quarantines. We had mostly driving day trips except for going for about a week to Letchworth State Park in NY. 

     Bob’s position as “Ambassador for Lancaster Bible College/ Capital Seminary and Graduate School.” was significantly altered due to the COVID regulations. He continues to preach, do conferences, mentor students, and interact with pastors and churches. He also writes articles for a local newspaper every five weeks and blogs for Calvary Monument Bible Church. He has been advising a number of churches that are working through issues related to the stress of COVID and serves on the Board of Directors for Calvary Fellowship Homes. He spoke at America’s Keswick for a week in August. It was a rather surreal conference as the Governor of NJ had placed so many restrictions upon the conference’s operation. Nonetheless it was a blessing to minister there and see the Lord work in lives. 

     Doris had planned to retire from officiating lacrosse after this Spring season. I guess you could say she had early retirement as the season was cancelled. She continues to be active with Child Evangelism Fellowship (teaching and board member), volunteering at Calvary Fellowship Homes, and teaching a ladies Bible class at our home church, and interacting with lots of ladies’ fellowships. 

Andy continues to teach in upstate NY. Teaching during this time is challeging. He maintains his sanity during this period by raising steers, chickens, and other farm products. Kristine homeschools Calvin, breeds labs, and maintains the vegetable branch of the farm. The children are involved many other activities making Mom the chauffeur until Kathryn got her license and her own car for transportation.

      Charlotte continues teaching at Carin University, Valley Christian School, and Veritas (online). Jamie continues to work with “Capture” (working with colleges to assist in student recruitment and marketing). Many educational challenges impact them. Their children too are involved many other activities—parents are on the run. All the families are active in their churches and it great to see their children growing in the Lord. 

Keep in touch! Email: bdreid1@verizon.net or Facebook (friend me!). Blog: reidsreflection.blogspot.com

Bad News Good News

In the late 60s and early 70s there was a television program called “Hee Haw.” This comedy show featured country music and humor set in the backdrop of the fictional rural community of "Kornfield Kounty." One of the segments of the program was introduced with a song "Gloom, Despair, and Agony On Me." Four cast members dressed in hillbilly clothes, holding moonshine jugs, and sporting gloomy faces sang, “Gloom, despair, and agony on me-e! Deep dark depression, excessive misery-y! If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all! Gloom, despair, and agony on me-e-e!” Following the chorus one of the hillbillies would state a humorous reason for their current misery and the segment closed by all his associates sobbing in an outlandish fashion.

     Perhaps this chorus ought to be played before every newscast in our current setting. The news that bombards our lives these days comes in waves of desperation as reporters broadcast gloom. One gets the impression that one reporter is trying to outdo a former reporter with an even more desperate scenario. At the end of the broadcast there is a miniscule account of a good news item. Is it a desperate attempt to inject a “news bromide” into the news program to placate the upset the gloomy news has created? Honestly, such reporting has our nation focusing upon all that is wrong in our country without acknowledging any of the many positive things taking place. Yes, there are challenges in the nation, but there are also many blessings bobbing in the flood of desperation that surround us.

     As we come to this Christmas season, we can easily paint the Christmas story as recorded in the Bible with warm fuzzies of wellbeing. However, the original Christmas account is surrounded by bad news. Politically things were less than rosy. It was a time of terrible tyranny. Caesar Augustus ruled the Roman empire (Luke 2:1). After a brutal power struggle, he was named by the Roman senate as Rome’s first emperor. They honored him with the title “Augustus” - meaning “the exalted one.” He wanted to be viewed as god, abolished the republican government, and became the supreme military leader and emperor of Rome. He appointed Herod the Great to rule in Palestine over Judea and Galilee (Matthew 2:1). Herod was brutal. One writer summarized his life this way, “His reign was one succession of monstrous crimes until his death.”

     The news is worse in the Christmas story. Socially it was an awkward time. A young couple, Joseph and Mary are engaged but not married. However, Mary is miraculously expecting a child (Matthew 1:18-21). Joseph as an honorable and gracious man, does not want to shame Mary and begins the process to “put her away secretly.” He is led by divine direction not to do this but to take Mary as his wife. One can be assured his honorable action did not silence the gossip. This was bad news for a young couple.

     Further, the news is troubling as Caesar Augustus decreed that this couple must make the journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem to be registered for a census. It was an inconvenient time as Mary was near her delivery date. A bad time to make a journey of about 70 miles as the crow flies or likely a walk of 90 miles in a caravan (Luke 2:1-7). This was about a four-day journey likely on the back of an animal. Any woman who has had a child will assure you this is bad news!

     Compounding the difficult situation was the cultural decline because of the religious climate of the day. The religious situation was very divided in their Jewish faith. One party had become secularized as the Greco-Roman culture seeped its way into their faith so that the supernatural was regarded with contempt.  On the other end of the spectrum, an ultra-fundamentalist party marginalized the Scriptures with their religious systems and traditions. The Apostle John summarized the times in which Jesus was born as “darkness” and that Jesus came to shine “light” in that darkness (John 1:5).

     The song sung when Jesus was born was not, “Gloom despair, and agony on me.” The song sung in the presence of humble shepherds was, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men” (Luke 2:14). The peace and goodwill were not based upon the circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus. The peace and goodwill were a result of the message an angelic messenger had announced, “I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord” (2:10-11).

     Today we need to focus upon good news in the midst of a gloomy world. God always supplies bright hope in dark times if we are willing to see God’s provision in our troublesome settings.