This past Sunday we looked at the New Jerusalem.
The Scandal of Christmas
This week we finished up the Christmas season with a look at the scandal of Christmas.
Blast From the Past: Mary’s Song
This was first posted in 2008. I think the questions are still worth asking.
The other day, I was thinking about the song of Mary in Luke 1. It was actually a pretty subversive thing to say in that day. I was wondering what Mary’s song would sound like in the 21st Century.
Who would be the rulers in today’s world? Who would be the proud? Who are the rich? Who are the humble and the hungry?
What in our consumer driven culture could the song speak to? What would Mary have to say to the Church?
What does it mean today that the King has come and is coming again? What would happen if those of us who say we follow this King lived as if we really did?
Just some questions rolling around in my head.
Any thoughts?
On Autumn
Autumn, or Fall, is one my two most favorite seasons, the other being Spring. I enjoy the cooler temperatures and the smell of smoke that often hangs in the air. In some way, even the decay of the leaves and the bare branches are beautiful and speak of the renewal that is to come.
The thing I like best about Fall is the beauty of the leaves as they change from green to different shades of red, yellow, and orange. The other day, Jan and I took a trip up into the high country of North Carolina and visited Banner Elk and Blowing Rock. The drive up was beautiful, as we saw the hues change from green with a bit of other colors to almost completely the colors of fall. As we drove from Banner Elk to Blowing Rock in the late afternoon, I was struck by the beauty of the fading sunlight as it filtered through the yellow and orange leaves.
The image that came to my mind was that of the elven realm of Lothlorien and the golden leaves of the Mallorn trees. As i continued to drive, I could imagine that place as a place where only beauty dwelt and where no evil could enter. I could have continued on that drive for much longer than we did. At some point we had to get off the road and return to the world as we know it, much as the ringbearers had to leave the realm of the Elves and continue on their journey.
Autumn reminds me that, as I go through this life that is often filled with decay, I can know that the golden hued forest we passed through is a picture of the time when all of creation will be renewed, and when there will be a land where no evil will enter, and only good will reign. It will be a land of unspeakable beauty and love that the best tales of humans can only allude to. It will be the realm of the True King, where there is no night, no pain or sickness, and no death. All tears will be wiped away, and everything sad will become untrue.
I look forward to seeing that renewal come to pass.
God’s Hesed
This week we took a break from our series on Proverbs and talked about the Hesed of God.
Eastertide Thoughts
It has been one week since those of us in the western church celebrated Easter. The Orthodox tradition will celebrate Easter on May 2 this year. Eastertide is the period between Easter Sunday and Pentecost, so the celebration continues in many churches for a full 50 days. Personally, I think that’s a good idea.
This year, I’ve been doing much more thinking about the importance of Easter to those of us who follow the One who was raised from the dead. I think a 50 day celebration of the event that changed history is something that should be practiced much more than it is now.
This has been a momentous year for many of us, with a lot of things happening that caused us to think about what is really important and about the brevity of our lives here on this earth. A little over a year ago, I had a heart attack. Within a couple of weeks, everything was locked down because of a deadly virus. We didn’t get to celebrate Easter in person last year. We didn’t get to do a whole lot of anything in person last year.
We saw the number of cases and deaths grow as the year went on, and very few of us didn’t at least know someone who caught the virus. Add to this what seemed to be the death of reason and understanding in the civil discourse in this country, and the year looked more bleak as it dragged on. We made it to the end of the year, but the future looked very uncertain.
In some ways the future is looking better. In other ways, there is still turmoil and uncertainty. Personally, my health is much better now, but there are things that have happened to keep the realities of life in a broken world in the forefront. From friends and neighbors who have cancer to friends whose parents have fallen ill, from families that are broken to our small town reeling from a senseless murder and suicide, there is much to make one wonder if there really are any answers.
There are many questions that we may never have answered fully. There are some that may not be answered at all. That is why Eastertide this year has become meaningful to me. I believe that Easter is the answer. We may not have all the details filled in for us, but Easter means that death has been brought down, had all its teeth kicked out, and ground into the dust in defeat.
Because King Jesus rose from the dead and inaugurated his kingdom, I know that my friends with cancer will unltimately be healed and will live in the new creation. I know that there will be peace on earth and the swords will be beaten into plowshares, and there will be no war. I know that there will be no hatred or murder, no struggle over possessions, or arguments over ideas. There will be no cancer, heart trouble, Alzheimer’s or Huntington’s Disease. Every tear will be wiped away and everything sad will become untrue.
Let us rejoice and feast! Break out the champagne! There is nothing worth celebrating more than the fact that death has lost its sting, and the grave has no victory. It is not the end yet, but it will be all right in the end. Hallelujah! Christ is risen!
Blast From the Past: Falsetto Spirituality
This post was first published in 2008.
In Soul Graffiti, Mark Scandrette writes, “A fascination with the supernatural can be a sign of spiritual fragmentation, a falsetto spirituality that strains to reach beyond the normal”. As I pondered that statement, I realized that it is so true in much of what is called Christianity.
The obvious examples of this “fascination with the supernatural” are those who run from place to place seeking signs and wonders and “fresh anointing” from God. The supposed moving of God can keep arenas, and ministry accounts, full for months as people swarm to experience a touch from God to lift their lives above the ordinary sameness of their daily lives. While some would consider these events on the fringe, there are other examples that hit a bit closer to home.
Mainstream evangelicalism is concerned with showing people how to have their best life now, with programs that will enable folks to experience a life that rises above the ordinary. Church leaders are given opportunities to learn the secrets of success from The CEO: Jesus. Congregations strive to be extraordinary and have bigger and better facilities and programs. Supernatural power that gets prayers answered and our needs (wants) supplied is constantly sought.
Even those of a more conservative, fundamental bent are not immune to a hunger for the supernatural. They seek a home far away in heaven, a home where the physical no longer matters, a place to escape this broken world. Many of the rules and regulations in fundamental groups seem designed to limit contact with this physical world and its “corruption”.
I’m not saying that the supernatural does not matter. I am awed when God performs genuine miracles of healing, and when he provides for his people in supernatural ways. I rejoice when prayers are answered and when godly leaders influence others to follow Jesus Christ. I too believe that this world is broken and corruption runs deep.
What I am saying, and what I think is the point of the quotation from Scandrette, is that the normal, ordinary parts of our lives matter. We are called to follow Jesus here and now, not in a future existence outside of this world. Jesus proclaimed that the Kingdom was here, that the King had arrived. Christ’s Kingdom is not of this world, but it does have an impact on this world. We have been given the commission and privilege to participate in the work that God is currently doing in this world.
If we look around us with eyes that can see, we can notice how God is working in the day-to-day of our lives. In fact, I think the really supernatural and miraculous thing is that the Creator of all things uses broken, ordinary people like us to do the work of restoring his creation, a work that will finally be complete when Jesus returns. The work of the Kingdom is not just those things that we see as “spiritual”. It sometimes involves getting dirty and dealing with ordinary things. But, then again, Jesus used ordinary things. He used spit and dirt to heal a blind man, for goodness sake! Why do we think we have to “rise above the ordinary”.
Look for God at work in the ordinary, and ask him where he wants you to fit into what he is doing. Don’t run after the supernatural. Remember, many times a falsetto voice doesn’t sound very good.
Blast From the Past: Mary’s Song
This was first posted in 2008.
The other day, I was thinking about the song of Mary in Luke 1. It was actually a pretty subversive thing to say in that day. I was wondering what Mary’s song would sound like in the 21st Century.
Who would be the rulers in today’s world? Who would be the proud? Who are the rich? Who are the humble and the hungry?
What in our consumer driven culture could the song speak to? What would Mary have to say to the Church?
What does it mean today that the King has come and is coming again? What would happen if those of us who say we follow this King lived as if we really did?
Just some questions rolling around in my head.
Any thoughts?
A Plea to Christians
In the next few days, we here in the United States will elect a President. It seems to be a close race, and because of circumstances we may not know the winner by the end of the day on Tuesday. There is a lot of talk in print media and the internet about unrest and possible violence in the next week or so. Some of that is nothing but fear mongering, but some it has credible evidence behind it. Our nation seems to be divided as badly as it has ever been. There is even talk in some circles about civil war. I am not a prophet, nor do I play one on TV, but I do believe that violence is possible after Tuesday because of the emotions that have been raging in the last few months. I hope I am wrong. I also hope that what I have seen and heard out of some who call themselves followers of Jesus is an aberration.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, in the days and weeks to come, if this country falls into the division and unrest that many foresee, remember to whom we belong. We are followers of the True King, and ambassadors for his Kingdom. While we may be citizens of the United States, it is not our true home. Like Abraham, we are strangers in a strange land. Our identity is not found in our ethnic make up, our lineage, our nationality, or our political beliefs. We are not Christian Americans or American Christians. We are Christians who live in America. This nation, as good as it is, is a temporary dwelling place for us.
I love America. My father and other ancestors fought for this country, going back to the War for Independence. Our system of government is unique in the history of the world. In spite of its flaws (yes, America is not perfect) it is a great nation. But, America is still a kingdom of this world. It, like every other nation, is still Babylon. The ancient Jews who were captive in Babylon were told to seek the peace and prosperity of that city, but their allegiance was to be to the God of Israel. We also are to seek the peace and prosperity of the nation we sojourn in, but our allegiance is to the King of Kings and we are to seek first his Kingdom.
We are brothers and sisters in the family of God. We are the body of Christ. Because we are family, we are to be united. Because we are one body, we are to be together. How many times has your big toe told your left ear that it was not part of the body because it wasn’t a toe? How many times has your left eye trie to prove its superiority over your right elbow because the elbow couldn’t see? Ridiculous, right? It is just as ridiculous for one Christian to denigrate another Christian because of their political ideas, in particular who they vote for. It is just as ridiculous for a group of Christians to pull apart and form churches that are “Christian Nationalist,” or “Patriot Churches,” as if those churches were somehow more pleasing to God. As Christians, we are looking for a city whose builder and maker is God. That is our nation.
Please do not let the voices that are trying to divde this nation do the same to we who call ourselves Christians. Particpate in the process, vote, be passionate. Do not, however, let your passion for a candidate or party overwhelm your passion for Jesus Christ. All of the parties, candidates, and groups will fade fade away. All of the energy put into all of the campaigns will be gone. Those who let their rage and hostility rule will cause harm and suffer harm.
We have a more sure hope. We are children of the Father who sees the end from the beginning. We are called to make disciples, calling people to allegiance to the True King. We can only do that if we present an alternative to a world that thinks that conflict and hatred is the way to win, because we know that in the end, love wins.
Brothers and sisters, in the next few days and weeks, let us show the world the Truth, Goodness, and Beauty of Jesus in contrast to the ugliness around us.
Blast From the Past: Mary’s Song
This was first posted on December 4, 2008. It seems like a good time to repost it.
The other day, I was thinking about the song of Mary in Luke 1. It was actually a pretty subversive thing to say in that day. I was wondering what Mary’s song would sound like in the 21st Century.
Who would be the rulers in today’s world? Who would be the proud? Who are the rich? Who are the humble and the hungry?
What in our consumer driven culture could the song speak to? What would Mary have to say to the Church?
What does it mean today that the King has come and is coming again? What would happen if those of us who say we follow this King lived as if we really did?
Just some questions rolling around in my head.
Any thoughts?