(Luke 2:21, 27, 39, 41, 42, 51)

It was the ultimate "family values." Family values to some is set in the milieu of authoritarian structure. Children (and in some cases, wives) are to do what they are told to do. "Because I said so" is reason enough. "Father knows best" is more than a comic strip.

As with any consideration of values, truth is mixed with error. Father does in most cases know best. And what he says is usually in the child's best interest.

Family means much to most of us. Unfortunately, some of us have been slow-learners.

Winston Churchill's was an intensely warm and profoundly affectionate family. Customarily he came home, entered the front door and shouted "Wow!" His wife and children responded, "Wow! Wow!" Then the door would close and the embracing would begin. Talk about family values!

One of Israel's wisdom authors, ben Sira, shared insights with his people in the second century BC.

It was when the hellenization begun by Alexander the Great was being violently enforced by his successors. Wise ben Sira perceived that if his Jewish brothers and sisters were to maintain their heritage and traditions despite the pervasive Greek culture, fidelity would first need to be fostered within the family unit.

He reminded them that parents, who are the caregivers of their children, would in time need their children to be their caregivers.

Many of us have been preoccupied with care for parents. Some of us are now becoming more dependent on children.

Walter Burghardt is 85. He writes, "Because life is a gift of God and all moments of life are equally sacred, the period of deterioration in aging demands special concern. Every effort must be exerted -- legally, socially, medically -- to preserve the life of those who are facing death, and to preserve it in dignity."

Here is a Jewish legend which is purported to have come down from the days of King Solomon:

Two brothers were farmers in the foothills of Mt. Zion. One was married and had seven children. The other was single. They shared equally what they grew, both produce and profit.

One day the single brother said to himself, "It's not right that we share equally. My brother has more mouths to feed, more responsibilities. I am all alone and my needs are simple."

So every night he took a few sacks of grain from his barn, crept across the fields and put them in his brother's storehouse.

Meanwhile, the married brother said to himself, "It's not right that we share equally. I have a loving family to care for me. My brother is all alone, with no one to care for his future." So every night he took a few sacks of grain from his barn, crept across the fields and put them in his brother's storehouse.

For years, both brothers puzzled that their grain barns never seemed to be depleted. One night they met in the field. Each saw the other with sacks of grain. Suddenly they realized what had been happening.

They embraced and cried together. The dark sky became illumined, and a voice from heaven declared, "Here at last is where I will build my temple, for where brothers live in love, there my Presence shall forever dwell."

Family values. Brotherly love. God blesses such.

A young lady came to Rabbi Neil Kurshan for counseling. She wanted to be married. She hoped she would value her children more than she had been valued.

When she was a child, her parents traveled abroad each summer and left her with a nanny. One year, when she was 11, the nanny suddenly quit. They hired a replacement. A few days before their trip, she saw her mother gather the family jewels and silver, wrap them carefully and put them in the safe.

"Why are you doing that?" she asked. Her mother explained that she wasn't sure she could trust the new nanny with the family valuables!

That insensitive reply shocked the 11-year old. Wasn't she a family valuable? She never forgot the humiliation and hurt she felt. She determined to treat her children with more value, more love.

In the setting of family life, children learn what is valuable. In my case, I learned the value of hard work and also of generosity from my Dad. He had little time for sentiment or affection. I rarely saw him from one weekend until the next. He worked hard, built quality homes, provided well for his family, was exceedingly generous with the church, was highly regarded in Lincoln both for his civic activities and for the excellence of his work. Later in life, he became a successful preacher and Bible teacher. He left a legacy of which I am proud.

My mother also worked hard, was an accomplished interior decorator, then a successful dietitian, but she was also very affectionate, took time to be interested in what I was doing with my life. I regret that she died at age 64. They had planned to come live near us when she retired!

Family values transcend the culture of the world. So Paul, in our Epistle today, told the Christians at Colosse what family values they should inculcate into their lives: mercy, kindness, humility, patience, forbearance, forgiveness.

He told them they should "put on" or be "be clothed" with those virtues.

In the verses preceding those virtues, he had told them to "take off" certain vices, "anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language . . . Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices." (v 8,9)

Paul was referencing the rite of baptism, which to the early Christians was a profound celebration. They took off their clothes, were baptized in the lake or river, and were then vested with a white robe as a sign of their new life in Christ. They became valuable members of the family of God.

We consider ourselves a family. And what a marvelous family we are. One lady joined the church, and said, "When you join this family, you never again have to bear your burdens alone." Please, may God grant that she was right.

Our Old Testament for today is another precious story of family life. Hannah and Elkanah had no children. In the Jewish society of old, having no son was about the worst thing that could happen, especially to the wife. Hannah promised the Lord that if she could bear a son, she would dedicate the boy to him.

As the story goes, she did bear a son, and she did dedicate the boy to God. Each year, the parents made a pilgrimage to the temple. As a sort of renewing her vow to the Lord, she brought Samuel a new robe every year. Each year Eli, the priest, blessed the family, and prayed that God would grant them more children; the prayer was answered.

Today's scripture tells us, "And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favour with the Lord and with men." (I Samuel 2: 26)

In his later years Samuel would lead Israel based on the family values he learned from his mother. Samuel would change the course of history. One man or woman who espouses the values of the Kingdom can change the world. You and I can change the world. We will never be great leaders like Samuel was, but we can make this corner of the world a better place.

The secret of success in making a better society is to do as Samuel did. He grew in stature, in favor of the Lord. He did that by living by the values he learned from his parents and the "church" (temple). Just as Jesus did.

In the ancient church, December 28 was set aside as "The Day of the Innocents." It was a day to mourn the children slain by Herod in his effort to thwart God's plan.

This is a time we must remember the innocents of our time -- children all over the world who are dying by the thousands, victimized by abuse, drunk drivers, drugs, indifference, neglect, war, and an avalanche of other violent evils.

This is a good time for me to emphasize the importance of violence on TV and video games. Please join our "People for Better TV" crusade. We have already delivered thousands of petitions to the FCC. They will be establishing new guidelines next month, and they need to know how we feel about violence in the media.

The Old Testament lesson, the Epistle and the Gospel all emphasize the importance of growth, development.

For Samuel and Jesus, it was childhood development. For the church at Colosse it was Christian growth, what we call sanctification.

At this time of year many of us make resolutions. One friend said, "I don't make any resolutions, because I always break them anyway." Sort of like another friend who says, "I know I can quit smoking if I want to. I've quit many times." We may not keep all our resolutions, but don't stop making them.

My most fervent wish for you, dear saints, is that 2001 will truly be a year of sanctification -- growth in knowledge and commitment to Jesus and his work for us.

"Love for him will give vital force to everything . . . sanctification consists in the cheerful performance of daily duties in perfect obedience to the will of God." (Ellen White)

2001 will be what we make of it. Lucy (Peanuts cartoon) may not be very realistic when she says, "I don't want ups and downs. I want ups and ups and ups!" But let's do our best to make life a series of ups and ups and ups.

Most of us are more bogged down with baggage than we realize. How many extra pounds of grudges are you packing around? How many handbags of animosity? How many flight bags of resentment? How many rolling bags of revenge?

We need to drop all the unwanted baggage. Jesus promised to help. "Come to me, all you who are heavily weighted down. I will give you rest."
We stand at the brink of a new year, a new century, a new millennium. We can choose how we will enter the opportunity of newness.

Dante's View is a perch in Death Valley. You can look down 200 feet to the lowest spot in continental United States, to a place called Black Water. Or you can look up 14,500 feet to Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the United States. From one spot, you choose up or down.

From our privileged spot in time we can choose: Look down, look down that lonesome road; or look up, look up and seek your Maker.

Frank Harrington is a minister in Atlanta. He said he is bothered by the runners who knock over a hurdle, and just keep running. He says if his mother were the coach, they would have to go back and straighten them up! "But then, hurdlers who win gold medals don't look back -- they ignore the fallen hurdles and keep running toward the finish line."

At this time I invite you to take the piece of paper you were given, write on it any failures of the past, any hard feelings you may have, any mistakes you regret, anything you want to leave behind. Then bring the papers to the altar and place them in our Burning Bowl. We will burn them and scatter the ashes in the church yard.

We will enter 2001 with clean hands and pure hearts, ready to conquer the challenges of the future without the baggage of the past.

Let us pray . . .