Is Facebook's formula limiting you?

THIS WORKS BETTER! 

Wondering about all those posts about Facebook's formula that limits who you see in your feed? (see note 4) Here's what you can REALLY do: See the menu bar up at the top of your phone screen? Click on the three horizontal lines icon (circled). Then look down the list and see where it says: "Friends." Clicking on Friends brings up the list of your friends.

(If you are using Facebook on the website version, click on your own name up there at the top to bring up the page where you can see the Friends button)

Now, scroll down your list of friends. See if there is someone there you don't recall seeing on Facebook for a while. In my case, I had to scroll a long way down to find people I haven't heard from recently.  This will either disprove the "25 friends limitation," or show that you just don't have many friends active on Facebook.

When you do find someone you haven't heard from recently: Do you know if they actually use Facebook regularly? Are they still alive? In jail? Found more productive uses for their time?

To find out, click on one of those Friends you have missed lately. Scroll down to see their posts. Have they actually posted anything in the last 6 months? If so, do this: Read some of their posts and post comments on them. Like their grandchildren. Laugh at their jokes. Comment on their trip to Europe. But, most likely, if you haven't seen them on Facebook, it's because they haven't been on Facebook. Most likely, those 25 friends you keep seeing are the ones actually using Facebook. (also see note 2 below)

Alternatively, if you still don't trust Facebook, try this: Make a shallow aluminum foil bowl (note 1). Put it in your lap. This will focus energy waves up toward your phone (and away from sensitive areas) Hold down that "Friends" button on your phone. Wave the phone over your head making 7 circles, clockwise in the northern hemisphere, anti-clockwise in the antipodes.. On each circle, recite "Expelliarmus!" No promises about this procedure, but it is undoubtedly at least as effective as that copy and paste thing going around. Rumor has it, this works best at midnight on a full moon.

Or, if you really want to make a radical change in your News feed, go down that list of Friends. Find the ones who fill your feed with whatever unwanted political, religious, nutritional, or commercial posts you happen to dislike, click on their name, and then change them to "Unfollow." You will remain friends, but won't see their posts unless you go looking for them. That could clear out a lot of room for more aging school chums, kids, puppies and kittens, or whatever you do like seeing.

To avoid Facebook's news feed algorithm altogether, in that highlighted pull down menu , there's a feed option for 'most recent'. Then you can see the order things have been posted instead of what's popular, most liked, or trending.  On my tablet, I would press that Menu icon, then "See More," then select "Feeds" then select "Most Recent.". That gets you posts shown in order of posting, without regard to responses or relevance.

If any of these ideas work for you, or if you are at least mildly amused, please Like and Share this post. Or, you could do that whole copy/paste thing with this post: Hold your finger down anywhere in this post and "copy" will pop up. Click "copy". Then go to your page, start a new post and put your finger anywhere in the blank field. "Paste" will pop up and click paste. You will pass Go, Collect $200 from the IRS (note 3), hear from old friends, make new ones (perhaps at the IRS), and change your life! Really! It worked for me! Try it!

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Notes:

1. In lieu of making a bowl out of aluminum foil, if you have an aluminum colander, that works equally well. But a steel colander? Stainless steel, I hope, otherwise it would rust. The magnetic properties of the steel (and possible rust) cause an added unknown factor, which might or might not effect the exorcism process. 304ss vs 316ss could make a difference.  Be sure not to put the colander on your head, inverted, like a hat.  That would totally negate the effect, and might also be joining the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster:  COTFSM

2. If haven’t seen any posts recently from Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Great Pumpkin, or the Tooth Fairy, and would like to,. Try Friending them..  Supplementary instructions for friending Santa Claus et al: Type their names in the search box on the bar at the top of your screen. Click on one of the results. Send them a friend request.

3. Be aware that the $200 IRS rebate may not apply outside the US. Consult the you tax authorities for local participation.

4. In case you haven't got it yet, that whole Facebook formula friends limitation think is a myth.
Check out these links  Snopes - Facebook formula  WTOP article   Business Insider article

I stood for the National Anthem the other day

I stood up for the playing of the National Anthem, the other day.  It was at a high school track meet where my grandson Andrew was running.  No big deal.  It's the custom.  I always have. Wasn't intending to make any sort of "statement,", just standing up out of custom.  Not expecting to cause the reaction it did.

Well, I guess it was a little different, using a wheelchair and sitting in the handicapped section in the front row.  I'm not a front row kind of guy.  I rationalize that tall people like me should go to the back, where we don't block the view of short people, (like my wife, which makes seating decisions schizoid in our marriage, but that'a another tale).  Truth be told, I like back rows because I feel more comfortable fading into the background. But folks in wheelchairs don't always have a choice.

So, they started playing the National Anthem, recorded, sort of suddenly, and I felt I should stand up, because I could.  The wheelchair is faster and safer to get around outside, but I normally use a walker to get around the house.  My wife was trying to get me to stay seated, and I was trying to hand her the jacket I had been using as a lap robe.  There wasn't anything in front of me to steady myself on.  I got to a mostly upright position.  Held my wife's hand to steady myself.  My daughter behind me was hanging onto the back of my waistband.  I didn't quite dare spare a hand to take off the knit cap I was wearing because of the cold.  And then it was over, and I sat back down, to the relief of my wife and daughter.

Didn't think much of it, until a few minutes later, a gruff guy came up to me and said, with an obvious catch in his throat: "Thank you. I've never been so impressed in my life," and stuck out his hand to shake (which I took, with my gloved hand, feeling a little embarrassed).  Later on, he talked to my daughter separately.  She related the conversation.  He asked her if I was her dad.  Said he had been a Marine and a cop, and how impressed he was that I, with my handicap, managed to stand, while some millionaire athletes won't.

Those of you who know me know that I am not the most patriotic of Americans.  I always thought Christ supersedes nationalism.  You know, that whole "Neither Jew nor Gentile . . . but all one in Christ Jesus" thing.  I pray daily for God's Kingdom to replace the nations. If we had the Pledge of Allegiance that afternoon, the fellow might not have been so impressed: I normally do stand for both, but abstain from the Pledge, feeling that my allegiance belongs to God alone, a conclusion I came to back in school, somewhere in junior high or high school.  But I do stand for the national anthem.  I feel it is right to stand when asked to do so, to respect the symbols of the nation that has given me the freedom to practice and preach my unorthodox, unpatriotic religion; a nation which gave the space of freedom and dissent where that religion could develop.  I respect those who risk their lives to serve in the military, even though I see Christ's teaching as recommending a non-violent alternative, and I respect this country for allowing me to live as best I can according to my rather different beliefs.

I didn't tell that fellow that while I do stand, I also respect the courage and principles of those who do not.  I think it takes more guts to kneel in front of a crowd in protest, than to go along with crowd by standing, even from a wheelchair.  I don't think what I did was anything special.  I think risking one's multi-million dollar career to make a point about perceived injustice to others less privileged, deserves far more respect.  But I didn't say that. The brief encounter didn't suggest it was an appropriate time for those details.

Being a dissenter from "mainstream" religion gives me more reason than for most to respect America and be grateful that I live here.  Now days, many countries offer similar freedoms, but when this country was founded, such freedom was new and rare.  My view of true American values is that what makes this country special is the degree to which it respects, even somewhat welcomes, non-conformity. One thing that is great about America is that it protects dissenters and protesters.

America isn't great because of people waving the flag, but because, to at least some extent, people are allowed not to.  America is special precisely because we are not compelled to stand for the National Anthem, salute the flag, or recite the Pledge. If people felt coerced or compelled to stand, it would devalue the act. Coerced respect is not respect at all, just conformity.  Worse, it would take away from the very freedom one is supposedly saluting.   I expect even that Marine and cop would agree that he served to protect that freedom, even if he disapproves of those who use it in that way.

Having the freedom to sit or kneel is worth standing up for.  Perhaps, though I didn't think about it that way at the time, I stood for the National Anthem that afternoon, because I did not have to.

Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness: The grievous sin of false Facebook posting

Exodus 20:16. "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour." 

This is the Ninth of the Biblical Ten Commandments: Right up there with murder, theft, adultery and idolatry.

Yet every day on Facebook, I see posts, from people who claim to reverence the Ten Commandments, that copy false accusations and slanders.  I won't cite specific examples. There are too many, some obvious, some subtle. There are more every day, mindlessly copied and shared without checking by many people, simply because they attack people they dislike.  This is false witness.  It is spreading malicious lies to slander someone.

In John 8:44, Jesus says that the devil is the father of lies.  The word "devil" is an English form of the Greek word "diabolos" which actually means: Slanderer, False accuser.  So, when you post a false accusation, you are quite literally the devil.

By contrast, Jesus said:  "I am the way, the TRUTH, and the life," so if you want to follow Jesus, you must follow truth.  If you follow lies, you are not following Jesus.

But, you say, you didn't realize it was false!  Is ignorance a defence? No, it is not.  If you spread accusations that you don't really know to be true, it is still bearing false witness.  But anyway do you really want to claim ignorance?  If you don't know what you are talking about, why are you posting?  Why post in ignorance?  All you do is prove your ignorance.

Spreading malice in ignorance is gossip. The Bible condemns gossip in the strongest terms.  Romans 1:29 says this about the Godless: 

 "so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil."

See who gossips are grouped with?

There is simply no way to reconcile careless posting of accusations with Christian ideals.  It is anti-Christian.  If you are going to make accusatory posts, you have a Christian obligation to at least make sure they are true.  If you can't take time to check before you post, don't post.  If you check, make sure you check reliable sources, not just the same scurrilous partisan echo chamber sites that pump out the lies. And, if you believe those slanders against Snopes, you have already been deceived by the devil.  If you don't know how to check it, or just don't want to bother checking, just don't post it. It's sinful.

But, what about "harmless" non-accusatory memes? They may make a claim, or just be a "cute" photoshopped picture, with, or without, a fake story.  What's the harm in sharing?

The biggest harm may be to your own reputation.  Do you really want to be thought of as that credulous, gullible person, with a loose grip on reality, who can't tell real from fake, fact from fiction, Truth from lies, news from propaganda?  Because that's the inevitable result.

The other BIG problem, is that we get so swamped by fakes that fake vs. real has ceased to be important.  Facebook is so overrun with fake memes, it has turned into Fakebook. The falsehoods are so dominant, that it is tough to wade through all the nonsense.   Russian troll factories flood us with it.  Politics, which always was a dishonest business, has now become virtually Fact-Free.  And social media has to bear much of the blame. Set a better example. Have a higher standard.  We should value Truth, above all.  Without it, we live in a fantasy world, and not a pleasant one.

You can't teach truths unless you value truth.  Facts matter.  The very first question to ask is:

Is It True?

What YOU can do about gun violence

It is astonishing that some people think the solution to guns and violence is more guns and violence. America is far and away the most armed nation in the world: Over 300 million guns in the US, belonging to 100 million or so Americans. Over 40% of the civilian guns in the entire world are in the United States.  50% more guns per capita than the next most armed nation. The American experiment has conclusively proved the obvious: that guns do not prevent violence.

To be fair here, despite that arsenal, America generally has a remarkably safe record of gun ownership. Only 30,000 deaths per year, with 300,000,000 guns, means less than 1 in 10,000 get used to kill someone in any given year, a pretty good ratio, one might say. So, the vast majority of gun owners have a reasonably safe hobby.

But, hobby is all they are.  Guns have no real use or value for honest civilians. None. They are killing tools. That's all. Very dangerous weapons that do in fact kill people, and have no useful purpose in civilian hands. I could elaborate on that, but that's another essay. Regardless, this isn't going to change any time soon.  Nobody is going to get those gun owners to give them up. Not gonna happen.  No use even thinking about that.

A few bad or mad individuals, that small fraction of a percent, creates a lot of carnage.  The culture that glorifies gun violence, that glorifies the stereotype of the lone hero gunman, seems to be a lot of the problem, but pinning it down to any one thing is futile.   Guns don't protect you; they kill you. Having a gun in your house actually multiplies your odds of you or a family member being the victim of gun violence, whether by accident, homicide or suicide. There is a faint chance you might be able to use your gun to defend yourself. There is a far greater probability that you or someone else will use that gun against you or a member of your family.

Guns are like cigarettes: legal, lethal and stupid. Until the country recognizes that, we will continue killing ourselves with both. You have the right to both, if you are foolish enough. It may not be coincidence that firearms, tobacco and alcohol regulations are all enforced at the Federal level by ATF.

You can stand on your rights and argue that laws don't solve anything.  Maybe you're right - until people change, no law could take away enough of those 300 million guns. Like I said, not gonna change any time soon, and not my concern to even try. Quite honestly, I have to concede that I have yet to see any laws proposed that seem likely to have a significant effect on the carnage.

So, what can you do?  Don't worry about the 300 million guns out there. They aren't going away.  Just worry about the ones most likely to hurt you: Any in your own house. That is what YOU can deal with.

This is not political. I am not about politics or laws or trying to make people behave. I support no political party or politician.  Gun rights folks often assert that criminals do not obey laws. That is truly total nonsense, but I actually agree that changing people, not changing laws, is what is really needed.  You can't change anyone but yourself. So, start there.  So, change.  Start with seeking out the violence in your own heart and fighting it. This an angry and violent nation. Don't participate in that, even emotionally.

But you can go farther: You want to defend your family. The most effective way to do that is to keep guns out of your house.  Don't allow guns in YOUR house.  Don't voluntarily be in the presence of anyone else with a gun. If YOU own guns, destroy them.  I'm not suggesting taking away your useless "right" to own guns if you are so foolish as to want them.  I'm suggesting you take the personal responsibility to renounce guns. That won't stop gun violence, but it's one small step in the right direction.  It won't solve the problem, but at least then, YOU won't BE the problem.  At least then, it won't be YOUR gun that is used in the next slaying.  It won't be YOUR family member who goes crazy and kills people with your gun. It won't be YOUR gun that is stolen and used to commit crimes. It won't be YOUR gun that is found by a toddler with tragic results.  Or, most common of all, you or your loved one, in a moment of desperation, will not use YOUR gun to commit suicide. At least then, YOU won't be supporting the gun culture or the gun industry, an industry of death. Then YOU, or a member of YOUR family won't be the next angry white man whose suppressed rage erupts into mass shooting.

I haven't actually seen these signs available, and I don't post slogans in my yard, but I would have not the slightest hesitation to making it clear that my home is gun free.  I don't for a minute think that burglars are restrained from my house by the fear that I might be armed.  Canadians don't seem to have a worse burglary problem than Americans.  Guns are a desirable target of burglars, so they can go elsewhere looking for them.  They may as well know that we aren't gonna have a shootout over my TV.  It's insured, and getting a little old anyway.  My home is (humbly) gun free.

Luckier Than Lou Gehrig

I always used to wonder how Lou Gehrig could say in his famous July 4, 1939 farewell speech to the New York Yankees, after having been diagnosed with ALS, a cruel disease that came to be named after him, that:

"Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth." 

Lou Gehrig's speech

How could any man facing such a near and difficult death consider himself lucky?

But now, having myself been diagnosed, not with Lou Gehrig's disease, but with some similar neuro-muscular condition, I do think I understand, and agree.

I'm still not completely sure what I have. It falls (as do I, frequently) under the general heading of a "movement disorder."  My symptoms don't exactly fit the classic definition of any of the possible diagnoses.  My doctors tell me what I don't have. I had every test the doctors could imagine, and none of them showed anything.   I don't have ALS, or MS, or Parkinsons, or Alzheimers, or Muscular Dystrophy.  I don't have a brain tumor or cancer.  One doctor thought it might be Ataxia, but the other disagrees.  They all say I don't have Hydrocephalus. They all say it's not brain damage from my cycling concussion.

Tentatively, maybe it might be something you've likely never heard of called Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) though my symptoms differ in several ways from how MSA is usually described. There's a whole list of vaguely similar neurological conditions that you've likely also never heard of, but I probably don't have those either.  It's some kind of deterioration of the cerebellum (not the cerebrum).  Whatever it is, my brain seems to be slowly losing control over my body.  And, whatever it is, there is at present no real treatment. In fact, the diagnosis doesn't really much matter as there is no real treatment for any of the likely possibilities. 

There's also not much in the way of prediction or prognosis.  As my doctor says, we know that it progresses, but otherwise we can't really predict much. Lou Gehrig lived two years after his ALS diagnosis. Stephan Hawking has lived over 50 years since his ALS diagnosis, married twice, fathered 3 children, wrote books, did physics, and still gets bit parts on the American TV sit-com "Big Bang Theory." So, these diseases are not very predictable.

But, here's the point:  I, like Lou Gehrig, can't help considering myself lucky.  I guess I could get into a "why me" or "woe is me" attitude, but that would be fake. I just don't feel that way about it.  It would be a totally wrong summary of my life and my circumstances.  Lou Gehrig died at the young age of 37. I am now 68, and will most likely make it in some fashion to the Psalmist's proverbial allotment of "threescore and ten" (that's 70, for those of you who don't know the score).  So, in quantity of life, I really have nothing to complain about. Sure, I always imagined that I would follow my parents in living into my early 90's, but life is not about quantity but about quality, and I have had a GREAT life. I would not trade these 70ish years for 100 of some other life.

I can only hit a few of the highlights here that have contributed to this great life I have lived.

I was born to wonderful parents and great family in a wonderful community. I was blessed that my ancestors immigrated to America, and to California.  

Although merely middle class by the standards of this country, we were, and are, rich by the standards of the world as a whole. If we aren't in the global top 1%, we are close to it. As they say, if you have to be a cripple, it's better to be a rich one, and I consider myself rich.

Certainly by the standards of any previous generation in human history we have comfort, leisure, ability to travel, and houses and driveways full of magical things that do the drudge work, entertain us, transport us, connect us, feed us, to a standard undreamt of by kings in any previous century. Objectively it is absolutely undeniable that here and now, this is totally without question the greatest time ever to be alive.  By whatever measures you care to use, people today live longer, healthier, wealthier, happier lives than they ever have before in the history of the world.  Two minor examples:  The biggest health problem in America today is the over abundance of inexpensive, delicious food of every possible variety. A cure for cancer? My wife was cured of a very nasty cancer that would have killed her a decade ago.  

Yes, I said houses, plural. Most people wish they could own one house (The "American dream.") We have two really great houses, both of which in different ways we were blessed to be able to share with many others. And now we are selling those and building one great big one by the shore of Lake Michigan to share with our daughter and family.

My parents gave me more than I could ever deserve, in every way, material, spiritual, educational. I have a brother who has always been my best friend.

I have the greatest marriage ever to my soul mate. The best wife I could ever have wished for, who, 46 years and counting, is still standing by me and supporting me to my last step.

I have wonderful in-laws, who are still with us and who have been like second parents to me. Lou Gehrig mentioned that his mother in law took his side, and mine does too.

I have two great children and five amazing grandchildren.  And, get this: my children actually want to help take care of me, even to the extent of amazingly inviting me to move in with them!  How's that for lucky!

We were so blessed to spend some time in the high Sierras. seeing them as few are able to do. I was able to realize a dream and hike most of the length of the John Muir Trail.

I have a faith that sustains me, guides me, gives me hope, gives purpose and meaning to my life, directs my life, and promises something even better to look forward to. And, I have a worldwide family, brotherhood, community of faith that is the most amazingly close and loving group of people in the world. We were blessed to be able to serve that family of faith in many ways. We continue to be blessed with not just one, but two local congregations that love us and care for us, and brothers and sisters all over the world.

I had a great career in my chosen field of engineering. I was fortunate that my parents sent me to USC to Engineering school. Sometime I'll tell you about how I became a "swiss army knife" of three engineers in one.  I was privileged to work for some truly great organizations at the peak of their productivity, doing exciting projects.  I worked for some inspiring leaders - some truly great men, and was privileged to lead some amazing people.  Although at the time it was often stressful, and there were times when I indeed hated it, it was never dull, and I was able to accomplish and achieve some fabulous things.  I worked with amazing people, sometimes on the cutting edge of technologies. And it paid pretty well, too.

I was able to run for years, and loved doing it.  I got to ride bicycles, to commute by bike for some years.  Not quite as much as I wished, but a lot. And I can still trike!

I live in a time and place where disabilities such as mine can be handled with comfort - luxury even. I get the best medical treatment available.  That it so far offers no cure is unfortunate, but still, I get the best there is.

You know those outrageous overly generous public pensions the politicians complain about?  I've got two of those. With medical insurance, too.

I was thinking about more things that have made my life so amazing, like watching men walk on the moon, robots exploring Mars, asteroids, comets, other planets, Voyager leaving the solar system! Telescopes that have found planets around other stars! So much wonder!

And now, my family is raised. My children self supporting and with great families of their own.  My career is done and I can look back on it with a feeling of accomplishment.  Do I wish I could still hike and bike and camp and run?  Of course I do.  But I look forward with excitement and anticipation to the next chapter in my life.

The point is that I have had a wonderful life. I hope it continues, because it is still going great, but were I told it would end today, I would not feel in any way cheated or deprived.  Lou Gehrig said he felt he was the luckiest man on the face of the earth, and I feel even luckier.

Who Were the Wise Men Seeking?

Have you ever thought about who (or what) the "Wise Men" or Magi who came from the east seeking Jesus after his birth were expecting?  What sort of king or god or whatever did they have in their mind to bring their gifts to? Who the Magi were; Where exactly they came from; What they knew; and how they knew it are all speculation, but who they were seeking is clear.


In Matthew 2:1-2, we are told:  “ . . . behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews?  For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.”  Notice that they specifically and explicitly give the reason for their worship of this babe.  It is because he was “born King of the Jews.”  Remember that in Mark 15:2, this was the question that Pilate asked, “Art thou the King of the Jews? To which he replied “It is as you say.” (NIV)

It's easy to be confused by the use of the word "worship" there in many translations.  Today we usually think of "worship" as limited to divine worship, of a deity, but the word as used in many translations also applies to bowing, kneeling, prostrating in respect or submission before a king, nobleman, ruler or other authority.  It could be divine worship, or it might not be.  The question is, which did the Magi have in mind?

Now when the Magi went to Herod and asked him where this child was, the effect on Herod was to incite him to a murderous jealousy, resulting in the slaughter of thousands of innocents.  Why was Herod jealous?  Would he have been jealous over the birth of God?  Possibly, but would he have attempted to murder God?  Well, I suppose anything is possible, but trying to kill immortal God seems a bit much, even for a Herod.  It is clear that Herod viewed this child as a potential mortal, human rival for his kingly throne.  The Magi were proclaiming that this child was born to be King of the Jews, and Herod considered himself the King of the Jewish nation.  Yet of course he was actually an Idumaean pretender, resented by the Jews as a Roman, and with every reason to be worried about the permanence of his dynasty.  The obvious conclusion is that Herod heard them to say exactly what they did say: that the child was born King of the Jews, and that is what he was worried about.  But what did Herod tell the Magi?  He told them in verse 8 that he too wanted to "worship" this child. What sort of "worship" did he imply?

Now if we are to suppose that Herod and the wise men intended this worship as divine worship of a newborn God Incarnate, we would have to suppose, with absolutely no support from the text, that Herod and the Magi somehow thought that this child was not a human king at all, but God. or a god.  They did undoubtedly know that this was a special king.  They knew, as we are told in Matthew 2:4, that this King of the Jews was the Christ, (the Messiah, the Anointed).  Anointing was what was done as a sign of being chosen by God as priest or king (e.g. Samuel anointed David as king).  But clearly they knew it was not just any king. The miraculous star they had followed surely made them know that this was someone truly special and unique. They referred to Micah 5:2 as the Old Testament prophecy that he should be born in Bethlehem.  Micah 5:2 refers to him as “ruler in Israel,” or as the record in Matt 2:6 calls him “ a Governor that shall rule my people, Israel.”

Is there any evidence to suggest that Herod or the chief priests and scribes with whom he consulted were some sort of proto-trinitarians who thought that this Messiah was to be God Himself?  Granted Trinitarians do find what they consider to be Old Testament “hints” or “suggestions” of Trinitarian doctrine.  But surely it is not credible to suggest that before any of the New Testament had yet been given; before Jesus had yet uttered a word; before any of the Apostles were even aware of the events to come; that Herod already thought that this “King” was really God, or a sort of hybrid man/god, a pre-existent mortal/immortal?   You might propose that, but there is no evidence in the record to support it.  Yet Herod, knowing only that this child was a potential rival to him as King, said he wanted to go and “worship him also.”  Clearly Herod intended this as (feigned) worship of a King, not of a God.

In any case, the Magi found the child Jesus, and they “fell down, and worshiped him.”  The New English Bible says, “bowed to the ground in homage to him.”  We can well imagine the apparently Persian Magi falling down before a king, for that is indeed how eastern kings were treated.  Is there any contradiction there in viewing this as paying homage or making obeisance to the (human) King of the Jews?  I see none. It makes the most sense.  Did they offer sacrifices to him, or cower in terror, or do anything that one might do before the presence of God himself?  No, they presented him with gifts that would befit a king, Gold, perfume, and ointment.  Whether or not the Magi understood this unique king to be the son of God, a concept Jesus had trouble getting across even to his disciples, and how they might have viewed that, is left to speculation.

One might object that the “Wise Men” were rather foolish men to go to king Herod with their request for directions if they were looking for his rival.  And perhaps they were, or perhaps it was in the plan of God that they should do so.  Regardless, whatever their reason, it did turn out to be a bad thing, so it is no argument to say that it was OK to go to Herod if they actually thought the child was God, but not OK if they thought he was a human child.  Either way it turned out badly.

Now this picture, of the Magi paying homage to a human king rather than a God may be startling if you've never before thought of it that way.  It is hard to change ideas that are entrenched in our minds.  I can only ask that you read the text carefully and see if there is the slightest evidence anywhere for a divine worship explanation.  I can see none.  All the evidence is for rendering obeisance to a human king, the divinely anointed King of Israel.

Undoubtedly, these Magi had a limited, partial and incomplete understanding of this newborn king. We aren't told what they knew or how they knew it.  Our understanding, informed by the preaching of Jesus and the writings of his followers surely should be more complete than those whose information was limited to the Old Testament at best, and perhaps less than that.  We should not be limited in our view of the Christ to the partial view of the Magi.  So, what is my point?  What do we learn from the limited understanding of the Magi?

First, it should be clear from this that "worship" in the Bible can mean either divine worship of a god, or it can refer to the legitimate and acceptable bowing in homage and obeisance due to a king, prince, or other authority.  When we see that Jesus in his earthly ministry was so "worshiped" we can usually see that it was so intended as due deference to a great teacher, prophet, healer, and authority, perhaps in a few cases with the perception that he was the (human) son of God, but never with any apparent and anachronistic understanding on the part of the worshipers that they were bowing before the second person of an incarnate triune god.  Any such divine worship of the man Jesus would most certainly have been viewed as blasphemous by the Jewish religious authorities.

The main takeaway from this though is to read what the Bible actually says about Jesus Christ, rather than to read the story through the lens of doctrines that were developed only much later on, after the Bible was written.  If you put Christ in Christmas, make it the Christ actually described in the Bible.

The kindness of strangers:

We went to the SC football game at the Coliseum Saturday.  It was my first game using the walker. We were both a bit apprehensive about getting me there and back safely. We parked in Pasadena and rode the trains to the Coliseum.  What struck us both was the kindness and helpfulness of strangers along the way.

There was the anonymous fellow who stayed right by my elbow as I wobbled across the ragged pavement of Vermont Avenue from the train platform.

There was the security guy who let me in the "credentials only" gate and helped me over obstacles.

There was the usher who held my arm and helped prop me up all the way up 20 rows and across to my seat.

There was the total stranger who held the back of my belt to make sure I made it slowly back down 20 rows of steps, and brought my walker down, too.

There was the annoying tatooed young woman talking loudly on her phone next to me waiting on the train platform who then held back the surging crowd and made them give me room to get on the train first.

There were the three young men, a little rough looking, who offered me their seats and got up to give Lyn a seat when they apparently sensed she was reluctant to ask.

There were half a dozen others who offered their help and made sure I was OK, steadied my walker, or went out of their way to make room for us.

We kept thinking, we were never that eager to volunteer to help others when the roles were reversed.

I also had to notice that most of the people helping us were not white like us.  They were black, hispanic, asian, who knows what, and we certainly didn't care.

Maybe some of it was the Fight On spirit of my fellow Trojans on game day, but, on the trains, it was just people who use mass transit. This was central LA, in gritty urban neighborhoods of scary reputation.  I suspect we would have seen the same kindness anywhere.

We see a lot of negatives about people in the news.  Saturday, we were wowed by the overwhelming kindness of strangers.  It is one of the blessings of disability that I am privileged to experience that kindness.