Augustana College, Illinois: Augustana Digital Commons

From  A Different Way of Seeing  exhibit at Augustana Teaching Museum of Art. From Vertical Files  Swedish American Arts: Augustana College Art Museumhttps://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/swensonexhibits_swedisharts/1011/thumbnail.jp

Exhibition catalog

Scandinavian immigration transformed the culture of America, bringing new ideas and ways of life. One prime example of this influence being the multiple forms of art that still persist today.https://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/swensonexhibitcarousel/1015/thumbnail.jp

Jensen, Shelby

Huntsha, Lisa

Swedish Arts in North America

Elsie wrote extensively, everything from music to lyrics, and sermons. From MSS P:347 Elsie Ahlwén Sundeen evangelist music and other materialshttps://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/swensonexhibits_sundeen/1011/thumbnail.jp

Writings

https://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/swensonexhibits_worldsfair/1010/thumbnail.jp

Exhibit case

“How to see the World’s Fair in Six Days, Three Days, One Day.” From MSS P:6 G. N. Swan papers.https://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/swensonexhibits_worldsfair/1016/thumbnail.jp

Brochure

https://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/swensonexhibits_permanentexhibit/1001/thumbnail.jp

Full exhibit

https://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/swensonexhibits_permanentexhibit/1002/thumbnail.jp

The Journey to America

This is a sermon delivered at the annual Christmas service for Augustana College\u27s Campus Ministries, held at the historic Augustana Lutheran Church in Andover, Illinois, December 5, 2018

Safstrom, Mark

Augustana College 
Augustana Digital Commons 
Scandinavian Studies: Faculty Scholarship & 
Creative Works Scandinavian Studies 
12-5-2018 
"Joy for all people, for all times" : A sermon for Augustana 
College's "Joy of Christmas" service 
Mark Safstrom 
Augustana College, Rock Island Illinois 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/scanfaculty 
 Part of the Biblical Studies Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion 
Commons 
Augustana Digital Commons Citation 
Safstrom, Mark. ""Joy for all people, for all times" : A sermon for Augustana College's "Joy of Christmas" 
service" (2018). Scandinavian Studies: Faculty Scholarship & Creative Works. 
https://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/scanfaculty/9 
This Other is brought to you for free and open access by the Scandinavian Studies at Augustana Digital Commons. 
It has been accepted for inclusion in Scandinavian Studies: Faculty Scholarship & Creative Works by an authorized 
administrator of Augustana Digital Commons. For more information, please contact 
digitalcommons@augustana.edu. 


1 
 
Mark Safstrom “Joy of Christmas,” Andover, IL Dec. 5, 2018 
“JOY FOR ALL PEOPLE, FOR ALL TIMES” 
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2018 
AUGUSTANA LUTHERAN CHURCH, ANDOVER, ILLINOIS 
PROF. MARK SAFSTROM, AUGUSTANA COLLEGE 
 
Good evening and Merry Christmas! 
Please join me in prayer. 
May the words of my mouth 
and the meditations of all our hearts 
Bring you JOY, O, God 
Our Rock, and Our Redeemer. 
Amen. 
This passage we’ve now heard from Luke’s gospel [Luke 2] is one of the most famous from 
Scripture. Even those who have never cracked open a Bible will likely recognize the scene 
painted here. Tradition has filled in between the lines to create a standard image, the 
“manger scene” or nativity. This is usually a crude stable, or perhaps a grotto, with the 
infant Christ lying in a manger, surrounded by the Virgin Mary, always resplendent in 
blue, along with Joseph, both of them in full adoration poses, as well as the donkey they 
rode in on, one cow, several sheep and their shepherds, and curiously enough, those wise 
men … who won’t be arriving for another year or so.  
This delightful image is among the most replicated in human history, appearing in 
everything from altar paintings and stained glass, to children’s board books, to U.S. 
postage stamps of the Madonna and Child by various masters, to plastic light-up 
decorations for the yard, or even to the full-sized outdoor variety, like the one that Kevin 
McCallister hides in in the classic 1990s Christmas film, “Home Alone.”  
When my mom was little, she was cast in a live outdoor nativity, where children dressed 
up to act out the story at set showtimes. People could drive up in their cars and watch the 
action unfold. Leave it to the 1950s to invent the drive-in nativity. My mom’s job was to 
play an angel, who popped out from behind a rock with two other little girls, in their rain-
2 
 
Mark Safstrom “Joy of Christmas,” Andover, IL Dec. 5, 2018 
proof angel costumes, at the point when a booming voice said, “and suddenly there was 
with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host!”  
Three little girls is all they got. The nativity is often a cute image.  
One downside to its omnipresence is that it can easily become kitsch. That is to say, mass-
produced art that is designed to have popular appeal, but has no depth of meaning. 
Or that it is so familiar that we miss the meaning that it does have. 
This image, furthermore, can also be contentious, and in American society since the 
middle of the last century, it has increasingly been removed from public holiday displays. 
This is one of the reasons for the enduring popularity of the 1965 TV special, “A Charlie 
Brown Christmas.” It struck a chord precisely for its divergence from superficial references 
to Christmas in other programming. In his biography of the cartoonist, Charles Schulz, 
author Stephen Lind explains the context and significance of Schulz’s inclusion of that 
scene where Linus reads from the Gospel of Luke. The TV executives were opposed and 
wanted it cut, but eventually conceded to Schulz’s insistence that his artistic vision not be 
hampered.  
At the time – and this still remains true – most holiday specials only had five main 
aesthetic or thematic elements, and were only vaguely connected to the Christmas story 
from Luke. These were: 
1) the iconic Christmas tree,  
2) some kind of Scrooge character,  
3) the use of carols in the background,  
4) the presence of Santa, and  
5) an emphasis on a universal, but vague “spirit of Christmas.” 
Schulz wanted to keep in the reference to Luke 2, for its own merit, as well as to 
underscore Charlie Brown’s concerns about the commercialization of the holiday.  
Stephen Lind explains: 
“The studio executives…worried about their market share. […] Their concerns were 
products of an industry that would routinely underestimate the collective interest 
the country would have in spiritual faith. In the broadcast business, […] it had 
become too dangerous for sustained religious reference, and network executives 
were not usually keen on embracing danger.” 
3 
 
Mark Safstrom “Joy of Christmas,” Andover, IL Dec. 5, 2018 
Nevertheless, with Schulz adamant, and the program already advertised, the executives 
decided that a flop was better than the losses sustained by pulling a program from the air. 
HALF of all American televisions that were turned on, on Dec. 9, 1965, were tuned in to 
“A Charlie Brown Christmas.” The response was overwhelming, and the program won an 
Emmy the following year. 
There is much at stake in the way that Christmas can be depicted and celebrated publicly. 
The concerns often have to do with fear.  
Fear of cultural confrontation in a pluralized, secular society is certainly a valid fear, and 
worth mitigating. 
It seems that the TV executives, however, were worried about the bottom line, and in this 
regard, their fears resembled more those of King Herod two millennia ago. 
Why would a proxy ruler of the Roman emperor be afraid of a baby, born to a teenage 
girl, dutifully traveling to Bethlehem to be taxed, even though she is pregnant, who later 
becomes a refugee and an immigrant, fleeing to Egypt? Surely these poor tax payers are 
the weakest people in the empire and no one to fear. 
Nevertheless, when the angel says “Do not be afraid” there is good reason to fear this 
baby. We have some indication already of who it is who should be afraid. Mary tells us 
herself just prior in the first chapter of Luke, in the song that she sings during her visit to 
her cousin Elizabeth. This is a song of praise, known as the Magnificat, and serves as the 
basis for numerous classical music pieces and hymns like the one we’ve just sung [Red Book 
no. 251, “My Soul Proclaims Your Greatness”].  
“My soul doth magnify the Lord…” it begins in the Old English of the King James Bible. 
To “magnify” the Lord, is to “proclaim the greatness of the Lord.” When I was little I 
remember picturing Mary like a human magnifying glass. Maybe that isn’t so far from the 
truth. Her joyful song magnifies what God has done and will do. This is a breakthrough 
moment for her as she jubilantly claims the promises of God. Her mind is changed, her 
fears are lifted. What was unclear, is clear. 
Her rejoicing is all the more dramatic because she understands what is at stake, and the 
gravity of God’s desire for justice.  
From Mary’s song we learn that God “has scattered the proud” and “has brought down 
rulers from their thrones” and “sent the rich away empty.” 
Maybe Mary is a bit of a rabble rouser after all. 
4 
 
Mark Safstrom “Joy of Christmas,” Andover, IL Dec. 5, 2018 
Fear prompts King Herod later to try to hunt down the Christ child, and in the process, 
slaughter all the boys who are 2 years old and younger, just to be thorough. Herod is a 
proud, rich, ruler.  
Yet, from Mary’s song we also learn that God’s “mercy extends to those who fear him.” 
In this sense the fear of the Lord is a holy reverence. “The fear of the Lord is the 
beginning of Wisdom” – we hear in the Psalms, for instance. Mary’s song confidently 
proclaims that God favors the humble and “fills the hungry with good things.”  
So, the nativity isn’t kitsch after all. It is a high-stakes proclamation of God’s love for God’s 
people, that runs counter to the ways of the rulers of this world, television executives, as 
well as government officials and presidents. God’s people, as explained in the Magnificat, 
are those who fear the Lord, are humble, and hungry. It is the poor and marginalized for 
whom the news of the birth of Jesus is truly good news. They are in a position to receive 
it. 
Yet, good news isn’t really good, unless it is good for everyone.  
The angel goes further than Mary does. “Do not be afraid, I bring you tidings of great joy 
which shall be for all people.”  
ALL PEOPLE. Not just those who are willing to give intellectual assent to this idea, or be 
converted to a certain camp or movement.  
The words of the angel are stark. This is joy for all people.  
God’s favor rests on the humble and the hungry. The downtrodden, those who have no 
hope, the poor in spirit and those who are literally poor, the peacemakers, the lepers, the 
blind, the lame, prostitutes, fishermen, and tax collectors. These are the people who Christ 
kept company with, after all. 
The concerns of Mary’s song are echoed later in Luke chapter 6, where Jesus says: 
“Blessed are you who are poor, 
    for yours is the kingdom of God. 
Blessed are you who hunger now, 
    for you will be satisfied. 
Blessed are you who weep now, 
    for you will laugh. 
Blessed are you when people hate you, 
    when they exclude you and insult you 
5 
 
Mark Safstrom “Joy of Christmas,” Andover, IL Dec. 5, 2018 
    and reject your name as evil, 
        because of the Son of Man. 
Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven.”  
 
The beautiful thing about Scripture is something that is true about good literature in 
general. There are repeated themes that tie it all together and give coherence to the 
diverse stories, authors, and historical time periods. 
Luke has thematically aligned the good news of Mary’s pregnancy and the birth of Jesus, 
with the prophecies about the Messiah from the Hebrew Scriptures, as well as the later life 
and words of Jesus.  
Mary’s song is also a repetition of the song sung hundreds of years earlier, by Hannah, the 
mother of Samuel, as she dedicated her son to service in the temple. The very same themes 
are here: God exalts the humble, and humbles the exalted. 
When the angel announces: “Do not be afraid” to the shepherds in the field, this is a 
message that has been repeated dozens of times throughout Scripture, by angels, the voice 
of God, and the leaders of God’s people, and even insignificant characters. 
In Genesis, the Lord tells Abram several times “Do not be afraid” as he is being called as 
the father of many nations (15:1, 26:24). 
God comes to Hagar, the mother of Ishmael, after they are driven away into the 
wilderness, saying “Do not be afraid” (21:17). 
As Rachel is dying in childbirth, the midwife says to her “Do not be afraid” – for her child 
has been born and the promise will continue after her death (35:17). 
Moses tells the people of Israel not to be afraid.  
Joseph tells the people not to be afraid.  
And this goes on and on right down to the moment that the Angel Gabriel tells Mary “Do 
not be afraid” when announcing that she will give birth to Jesus. 
Luke begins his gospel by addressing it to “Theophilus,” whose name can mean “befriended 
by God.” There is speculation about who this person may have been. One intriguing 
theory is that we, the reader, are actually Theophilus, the one “befriended by God.” It is 
an interpretation that certainly works thematically, and aligns with the greeting being 
6 
 
Mark Safstrom “Joy of Christmas,” Andover, IL Dec. 5, 2018 
given to Mary, as well as the shepherds, Joseph, and Zechariah and Elizabeth. All of these 
people are told to “not be afraid,” as they are being befriended by God. 
Those of us who teach literature remind our students that if something is repeated, it must 
be significant. If it is repeated multiple times, then – “reader, pay attention”! This is not a 
coincidence.  
This almost rhythmic repetition of “Do not be afraid” throughout the Hebrew Scriptures 
and the New Testament should wash over us like a wave of reassurance. 
As readers, we are addressed as the friends of God. 
This is good news. 
Yet, good news isn’t really good news, unless it is good for everyone. So there must be a 
way that even for King Herod, this initially bad news might have become good news, if 
only he had been able to receive it as such. 
Herod did not hear this message, as the baby undermined his earthly security and privilege 
too much, and he responded as insecure tyrants and other malignant narcissists have done 
for millennia. 
Or maybe Herod did understand the message. That he was the target of Mary’s subversive 
song, as well as generations of criticism from the prophets of Israel. 
The voice of God in the Hebrew Scriptures and in the New Testament is strikingly 
consistent on this point. The bows of the warriors are broken, those who have food go 
hungry. The weak, on the other hand, are restored, and the hungry are fed. 
This is a transformative message of hope and joy. 
If we are to be encouraged and even changed by the reading of the Christmas gospel, the 
change lies in the realization that the text has something to say to me, in my situation, 
now.  
Am I arrogant? Am I privileged? Do I feel threatened by the upending of the social order? 
Do I fear something is being taken away from me? 
The political climate of the past few years has played on our fears. Fears about changes in 
society, fears about immigrants and refugees, fears about … you fill in the blank.  
What are you afraid of? 
The Christmas gospel is repeating a joyful message about not being afraid. 
7 
 
Mark Safstrom “Joy of Christmas,” Andover, IL Dec. 5, 2018 
This is good news. 
In the corner of the Lutheran tradition that nurtured my own faith so profoundly, the 
Pietists in the Church of Sweden, the reading of Scripture and preaching was often 
oriented to the reader. The text was the mirror for self-discovery and transformation. 
Questions included: What does this text teach, what does it command, and what does it 
promise?  
Our text today presents profound claims about the truth, not kitsch. Hannah’s song and 
Mary’s song are deep words worth pondering in our hearts. 
After the singing of the angels, how can we enter the world without fear, to love mercy, 
and to do justice? 
Perhaps mercy and justice are not threatening to you, but the Bible is. There are good 
reasons for that, I am sure. 
All I can do is repeat the words of angels: Do not be afraid. 
In many Christian traditions, there is an understanding that the spirit of God illuminates 
our reading of Scripture. When we hear the Word and understand it and are transformed, 
this is the work of God’s Spirit.  
What a gift to have our minds changed! To have our fears and prejudices lifted away! 
One of the historical figures that has been formative in my own deep relationship to the 
Bible is an immigrant schoolman named David Nyvall. In the middle of debates about 
scriptural interpretation in the 1890s, he responded: 
“Without the Spirit of God the Bible is like a sheath without a sword, like a grain of 
seed without a sprout. Without the Spirit, the very essence is missing, and the Bible 
becomes a casket for dead dogmas instead of a garden of life and fragrance.” 
Opening the Bible is an act of entering into a beautiful world, of encountering God and 
God’s promises. Yes, there is much at stake. But the message is, do not be afraid. 
The Bible is not a casket, Nyvall said.  
Martin Luther referred to the Bible as “the cradle wherein Christ is laid.”  
The straw is course. This is a crude feeding trough for livestock. This is no place for a 
baby.  
And yet this is precisely where a message of hope and joy is needed. 
8 
 
Mark Safstrom “Joy of Christmas,” Andover, IL Dec. 5, 2018 
In the TV special, Charlie Brown is exasperated because Christmas can seem so crass and 
shallow and kitschy. 
“I guess I don’t know what Christmas is all about. Isn’t there anyone – who knows what 
Christmas is all about?!” he cries. 
This is when Linus replies by reciting the passage from Luke 2, from memory. This is the 
best place to look. I suggest we also read backwards and forwards from this point, 
particularly taking Mary’s words into account. What did Christmas mean for Mary? 
Of the many Christmases that I have celebrated so far, some have been more joyful than 
others. The context of our lives shapes how we relate to the meaning of this annual 
festival.  
At present, our country and our world are not in great shape. This is not the kinder, 
gentler nation we had hoped it would be. Yet in many respects, our days resemble the 
turbulent 1960s, and maybe even Palestine two millennia ago.  
Despite being young, Mary was a deep thinker. Luke’s gospel tells us that after the visit of 
the shepherds, she “pondered these things in her heart.” The Magnificat demonstrates that 
she was passionate about justice, understood her own vulnerability and weakness, and 
rejoiced at the news that it is precisely the vulnerable and weak whom God befriends. This 
is her song: 
“My soul magnifies the Lord, 
     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 
for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. 
    Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 
for the Mighty One has done great things for me, 
    and holy is his name. 
His mercy is for those who fear him 
    from generation to generation. 
He has shown strength with his arm; 
    he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. 
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, 
    and lifted up the lowly; 
he has filled the hungry with good things, 
    and sent the rich away empty. 
He has helped his servant Israel, 
    in remembrance of his mercy, 
9 
 
Mark Safstrom “Joy of Christmas,” Andover, IL Dec. 5, 2018 
according to the promise he made to our ancestors, 
    to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” 
 
This is good news, for all people for all times. 
Do not be afraid. 
In the name of the Father,  
the Son,  
and the Holy Spirit. 
Amen.  
 


English

Joy for all people, for all times  : A sermon for Augustana College\u27s  Joy of Christmas  service

Wenstrand, Andrew Eric

Life in Småland in the 1850s

Swedish American Genealogist 
Volume 38 Number 1 Article 14 
3-1-2018 
The Old Picture 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/swensonsag 
 Part of the Genealogy Commons, and the Scandinavian Studies Commons 
Recommended Citation 
(2018) "The Old Picture," Swedish American Genealogist: Vol. 38: No. 1, Article 14. 
Available at: https://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/swensonsag/vol38/iss1/14 
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center at 
Augustana Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Swedish American Genealogist by an authorized 
editor of Augustana Digital Commons. For more information, please contact digitalcommons@augustana.edu. 
21Swedish American Genealogist 2018:1
The Old Picture
On this page we intend to publish old pictures, sent in by our SAG readers. If you have a picture you want
to see on this page, either send a digital copy, scanned in at no less than 300 dpi and saved as a jpg or tif
file, or send a good paper copy to the editor at the address shown on the inside cover. Do not send any
originals, as we can not accept responsibility for them. Neither can we promise to publish all pictures.
Page 223 from Illustrated Jamestown, edited by Vernelle A. Hatch. Printed in
Jamestown, NY, 1900.
Note the many Swedish names!


Augustana College

Not a member yet

Exhibition catalog

Swedish Arts in North America

Writings

Exhibit case

Brochure

Full exhibit

The Journey to America

Joy for all people, for all times : A sermon for Augustana College\u27s Joy of Christmas service

Life in Småland in the 1850s

The Old Picture

3,551

5,576