The light has come!

Last night at the Christmas Eve service I was surprised by a wave of emotion. I’m a sap who frequently tears-up during movies and at Hallmark commercials, so waves of emotion are not new to me. But this one caught me off guard.

All day I had been looking forward to the evening’s events, to be spent sitting with my children and in-laws while my wife accompanied the hymns and carols on the organ. I had prepared a big pot of potato soup, left simmering in the Crockpot to be enjoyed on the rainy night after the service. Each year I enjoy watching my children become overwhelmed by the various events of the Christmas season. Sometimes the Christmas Eve service is an interruption into the family fun. But this year we had prepared everyone for the afternoon and evening. We traveled home from my mother’s house, cleaned up a bit before Karen’s parents arrived to go with us to the service. It was a busy, but fun afternoon.

I can’t tell time. Clocks still baffle me. They arrive at appointed hours much sooner than does my internal clock. As a result, I am always tardy or downright late. Today was no exception. My wife’s family is always annoyingly prompt. When we finally got to the church, the congregation was already singing the First Noel. Sadly, we had missed my wife’s organ prelude. The music is usually a highpoint for me. But what got me this year was a candle – a simple candle.

Each week of Advent, families come up during the morning service to read appropriate scripture, lead in a responsive reading, and then light the designated candle in the Advent wreath. The wreath was regally seated atop of a sturdy brass stand, elevated enough for everyone in the congregation to see, placed between the podium and the pews. Encircled by evergreens, each candle symbolizes one of the traditional meanings of Christmas – Hope, Love, Joy, and Peace. Each week a different candle is illuminated moving around the circle until all are lighted the Sunday before Christmas. On Christmas Eve the large white Center candle is lighted.

Last night I was having trouble following along in the order of service because Karlie absconded my bulletin to use as a doodle pad. She had systematically worked through all available paper – the envelopes and notepaper stuck into the back of the pews. When she saw the woodcut of the angel printed on the cover of my order of worship, she asked to see it. I never got it back. Thus, I was left to follow the service by reading over Karlie’s pencil as she decorated my upside-down bulletin. Every so often she would motion to one of her new drawings and look to me for a nod and smile of approval.

When the family got up to light the Advent candle I was not really paying attention. They read a few scriptures and somehow I caught a few words that grabbed my attention, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who live in a land of deep darkness – on them a light has shined.” (Isaiah 9:2). As the words echoed in the fog of my consciousness, I fumbled for the program, trying to get Karlie to let me see the responsive reading. She was not interested in sharing. I gave up just as the family was attempting to light the center candle, the Christ candle. I was seated on the isle. I looked down the corridor of pews to the wreath stand. As the tiny flicker touched the wick of the candle, I gasp.

The light had come. Emmanuel, God is with us.

Though the lights throughout the sanctuary were lit, the wreath seemed to illuminate the entire room. My eyes filled with tears as I thought, “It is complete, finished; THIS is the meaning of Christmas. The light has come. In this helpless tiny baby we find the hope of the world. Through him we find the possibility for hope, love, joy, and peace.” Justice now has a new face, the unexpected powerless, dependant visage of a newborn baby. We look to power and might – politicians and armies – to enforce peace, but this baby shows us that peace comes through humility, powerlessness, and reliance upon the Divine to accomplish the mystical reality of peace in unexpected, even impossible ways.

As people around the world pause today – Christmas Day – may many realize the pregnant truth of the moment; that the birth of Jesus, the light of the world, may give birth to hope, love, joy, peace, and justice in our lives and in our world!

Light a candle today and remember - the light has come!

Emmanuel

Once again my favorite time in the Christian calendar has arrived - Advent, the prelude to Christmas. "Come oh come Emmanuel" we sing, we plead, we pray. Its not so much that we are waiting to place baby Jesus into the Nativity scenes that fill our home, but that we long for Jesus to be more real, more evident, more present in our lives each day. For me, its not so much a focus on "the second coming" or "the last days" longed for in escatological discussions, but the realization that I don't live each moment filled with the reality of Jesus presence and influence in all that I do. This season calls my attention to Jesus presence. Everywhere I look this season I am reminded of Jesus' Kingdom. I am also reminded how I often miss, or worse, ignore the presence of the Kingdom of God in my life. God's kingdom is not relegated to Advent, but it is so much easier to recognize it in the trapping of Advent: the candles, the evergreens, the lights and presents under our Christmas trees.
My hope this year is that I can carry the knowledge of Jesus presence into the new year with the same excitement and anticipation that I have looking forward to Christmas.
Last night Karlie, our three year old, was playing with one of our Nativity sets. Role playing with one of the three kings, in a high pitched voice she announced, "the kingdom is saved!" In itself that is funny, but its also incredibly profound. Advent reminds us that through Jesus life is redeemed. God's Kingdom is here and all is (still) well in light of God's presence. But, his people, those who have seen and accepted his grace & love, must recognize and claim (again) the impact that Jesus can have on our living. We can be the hands and feet of the kingdom. We are the ones who must make the Kingdom a present reality for others. We must live Kingdom community with each other. We must live grace and peace in all of our relationships, thoughts, and actions. But first, we need to be reminded that "Emmanuel, God is with us!"
This Advent, may we each allow God to remind us of the areas of our lives that need to be impacted by the coming of Jesus! May we prepare for his coming! May this Christmas be a time when we each learn to live as more complete citizens of the Kingdom of God!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

John and Drew update

For a really cool update on John and Drew go to the link above, on the panel below the mail picture, locate the small picture with "John and Drew" written on it.

The site also features letters from lots of folks who have written about the extent to which they will sacrifice all for the sake of the gospel. Read through the letters. Maybe write your own letter. Give some thought to what you would write if you knew you may never some back from a mission trip....

Lessons learned a million miles away....

Last night at the UGA BCM worship Gathering we had the opportunity to hear from Drew Hooks and John Younker as they related their summer missions excursion to Lesotho in south Africa. Like many who come back from such experiences, John and Drew shared the ways that their encounter with a culture vastly different from their own impacted the way they now see the world. Perhaps the most important lesson they learned in the village where they lived was that the only way to be missional was to actually model their lives and daily activities after that of Jesus. Like Jesus, they had to be incarnational. The Gospel became more about living and less about following rules or trying to live up to someone else's ideas about holiness, oughtness or "Christian living". Each day they attempted to do the things Jesus would did with everyone they encountered. In so doing, they discovered and experienced freedom and grace in new, vibrant ways. Today both men are trying to apply what they learned thousands of miles away in their "normal" lives as students at UGA. They are finding that it really is not as different as they thought it would be.

Song of Peace

This weekend I have been thinking a lot about what it means to be both a USAmerican and a Christian. My wife is the organist at a local church. Holiday weekends such as this always bring about conversations about the appropriateness of bringing songs into worship that celebrate our country and our citizenship. Often it seems that such celebrations are more about self-congratulation or nation worship than about worship of the God of the Bible who transcends our country. Don’t get me wrong – I am proud to be an American. I think we have the best functioning government anywhere and I can’t imagine living anywhere else. I do thank God for this country and for those who represent us in our nation's capital. But I often struggle with proper perspective, with keeping my citizenship in God’s Kingdom above my obligations as a US citizen. Though some would disagree, the two citizenships do not always agree in focus, scope, or purpose. I hope that my focus preferences God’s Kingdom, purposes and perspectives where the two disagree.

This weekend I was introduced to Song of Peace, a hymn that captures my current thoughts. There are many different versions of the song, a link to one is above. Listen or read the text – it is profound. What do you think?

Song of Peace

This is my song, O God of all the nations,
a song of peace for lands afar and mine;
this is my home, the country where my heart is;
here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine:
but other hearts in other lands are beating
with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.

My country's skies are bluer than the ocean,
and sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine;
but other lands have sunlight too, and clover,
and skies are everywhere as blue as mine:
O hear my song, thou God of all the nations,
a song of peace for their land and for mine.

This is my song, O God of all the nations,
a prayer that peace transcends in every place;
and yet I pray for my beloved country --
the reassurance of continued grace:
Lord, help us find our one-ness in the Savior,
in spite of differences of age and race.

May truth and freedom come to every nation;
may peace abound where strife has raged so long;
that each may seek to love and build together,
a world united, righting every wrong;
a world united in its love for freedom,
proclaiming peace together in one song.

This is my prayer, O Lord of all earth's kingdoms,
thy kingdom come, on earth, thy will be done;
let Christ be lifted up 'til all shall serve him,
and hearts united, learn to live as one:
O hear my prayer, thou God of all the nations,
myself I give thee -- let thy will be done

As I pray this weekend - and in the coming days - I hope I may gain God's visions for our country and our world.

Give me your eyes O God: Give me your vision for this world.

a non-reactionary life

This morning I’m pondering if it is possible to live a non-reactionary life. Let me explain: many, if not most, of the people I meet are driven by a particular event that occurred to them in the distant past or they live each day in reaction to external events (activities, people, ideas) instead of being internally motivated. It seems that for most people identity development is prompted by crisis moments. Some people negotiate crises in a healthy way, consciously choosing to adjust their ideology or lifestyle appropriately. Whereas others become bitter or withdraw or are driven by a manic need to somehow achieve revenge or to make up for a perceived loss that occurred as a result of the crisis. Sometimes the result can be positive, but often it is not. In talking to the many collegians and alumni who come my way it seems that some do not even realize the effects crises have on their lives. However, many others are thoughtful, taking the care and time needed to do the deep, often difficult soul-level work needed to choose to have control of who they become.

As a minister and often counselor I have found that many people are resistant to asking questions. Most just want answers without living in and with the tough questions of life. Many times the quick or easy answers are not the most helpful. Even when our faith gives us guidance some inner wrestling needs to take place before we truly understand, appreciate and are able to appropriate the answers gleaned in those rich religious traditions. Most theology did not come about through intellectual study, but through deep soul searching, prayer and wrestling with God. In this vein, Jacob is my hero. For the rest of his life, his night long wrestling match with God left its mark on him. This next year my challenge is to help my students learn to wrestle through the tough issues and not only accept the easy answers others have gained through their own dark nights of the soul!

 

 

 

 

God of the City (and everything)

This YouTube interview of the lead singer of Bluetree (click on the title above) about the inspiration of his song, "God of the City", captures a spirit of action and service that I want to embody in my own faith practice and that I want to teach to my students and children. If those of us who claim the mantle, "Christian", would begin living and serving out of our love for Jesus instead of criticizing those whose morality or perspective is not our own, we could truly make a difference! We would also be taken more seriously by those who are currently criticizing us as hypocrites!

Encounter with Jesus

The jaunt to Samford U with a group of UGA students to see Shane Claiborne was a profound experience. Much of what Shane said can be found in his books & videos. However hearing him weave the stories together on stage while sitting in a chapel filled with excited students provided a spirit-filled milieu to hear the stories anew.

I've copied some of the most inspiring or disturbing thoughts and quotes below. Though these emerge from his experiences, they were all inspired by Shane's life-changing reading of scripture and encounter with Jesus. In his word's meeting Jesus didn't make his screwed up life perfect and whole. Encountering Jesus messed his normal, Christian life up; "I'm still recovering from my conversion experience".

Here are some of the nuggets that i'm struggling through:

Faith is a way of living, not just a way of believing
Each American consumes the equivalent of 500 Ethiopeans per year
Jesus took what was thought to be unclean (dirt and spit) and provided healing (wiped them in someone's blind eyes)! He radically transformed perspectives and worldviews
Mother Theresa said that in the poor and lame, in the least of these, "we see Jesus in his most distressing disguises"
"The best things to do with the best things in life is to give them away"
Ask yourself, "what if Jesus meant the things that he said?" So much of what he said collides with the way we live, with our USAmerican approach to life. "We need a new imagination of the way to live in the world" to not conform, but to be transformed. Most imprisonments (1 in 8 African Americans) are related to economics - that's a justice issue that we have not sufficiently addressed
Christians are not normal, are not of the status quo, they "seek to bring about the world that God dreams of"
Jesus sends us into the world as "radical nonconformists representing God's heart"
Jesus loves evil-doers so much that he died for them
There are a lot of things worth dying for, but there is nothing worth killing for"
The question is not what job are you going to have "when you grow up" but "what kind of ____ are you going to be" - we are called to allow Jesus to transform what we are called and created to be/do into his likeness

I struggle through some of these issues I'll try to blog about them.

Heroes

A few years ago I wrote about one of the saddest days in our family. In the world it may have been a minor event, but for my son the death of Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, was his most tearful yet. I will never forget sitting cross-legged on the kitchen floor, Nick cradled in my lap, as he sobbed and sobbed and sobbed, his tears soaking my shirt and mine his hair.

The question that kept running through my mind then and now is what should a dad do when his child's hero and dreams die?

Tonight I have been sitting on the sofa with my son, now a year and a half older, watching him watch his new hero. He has been waiting for this night for over a month - the BCS national championship. As we were watching the pregame show the network did an excellent feature on Tim Tebow. Yes, my son, living in Athens, GA is a fan of the Florida Gators. But more than the Gators, he adores Tim Tebow, known among the faithful UF fans as "Superman". But even though I am a fan of the UGA Bulldogs, it is really hard for me to complain.

In the feature they told of Tebow's humanitarian work - which anyone who has read much about him knows is based on his Christian faith. Tebow uses his fame as a platform to encourage others every chance he gets. But most of all he uses it as a chance to tell of his faith in Jesus Christ. From prisons, to hospitals, to mission trips in third world countries, Tebow gives freely of his time to share what is most important to him, what gives his life meaning.

So I may cringe a bit when I walk by Nick's room and see the blue and orange blaring at me, or when I see his wall of fame of UF memorabilia, or when I go to kiss him goodnight and have to sit on his Gator-head sheets. Kids have to have heroes. Kids will have heroes. As a dad I know that I can't choose his heroes for him. I can try. I can introduce him to good morals, to our families value system. I can make sure he is at church and surrounded by the things that I love and value. I can teach him about everything that is important to me. I can tell him how much I love God and how my faith in Jesus has changed my life. But I can't make him choose the heroes I would choose for him.

Steve Irwin was a fun hero. Our whole family enjoyed watching his various shows on TV - still do. We enjoy visiting zoos and playing with Nick's Sinoloan Milk snake. We all mourned with Nick at Irwin's passing. Tonight as I watched Nick watch Tebow I smiled. The glow of pride on his face as he watched Tebow preach and tell of how he loved touching others and using his fame as a platform to make a difference is a memory I will treasure.

My eyes again filled with tears as I watched him tonight, remembering that tragic day almost two years ago. But these tears are not for a hero lost, but a hero gained. And you know, I think I like this one better than the last. Its a great thing when you can take pride in your kid for making a wise choice on his own!

And I have to say it (for my son)....Go Gators!

Go Tebow!