I didn't grow up in a tradition of "Advent". We simply had Christmas. I think I was first introduced to this term during our years at First Covenant in San Francisco and it certainly was a word used during our years in Minnesota at our Evangelical Free church. For the first years at our present church it was not mentioned nor emphasized often but in the last several years, perhaps 10, it was emphasized to various degrees.
In my mind there is a subtle but significant difference. Christmas feels like a day whereas Advent implies season. Certainly "Christmas" can imply a season but the youthful places in my heart remember the run-up to the big day and the let down of December 26th. I am now more inclined to embrace Advent so as to enjoy the entire four week period from yesterday; the first Sunday of Advent, until December 25th.
This is why I was saddened yesterday at my home church's complete retreat from "Advent". No lighting of the first candle, no reading of the first passage, not even a mention. Frankly, I had forgotten it was the first Sunday of Advent until I was driving home and it hit me, no Advent.
While I am disappointed at this turn of event, I do know this, nothing stops me from embracing personally the Advent season, with or without a corporate acknowledgment on the part of my church home. I've decided my celebration will happen here, at the keyboard as I reflect on some of the characters that play important roles in Advent.
There are two mothers, Elizabeth and Mary. Neither should have borne sons; Elizabeth due to age and Mary due to virginity. I have often been intrigued by Elizabeth and her story. Obviously, while I can't understand from experience the wonder she must have felt at this baby growing inside her, I can imagine how incredibly happy with wonder she must have felt. John's mother was a woman of deep wisdom that had grown through all the childless years. The hurt and disappointment she must have felt for years deepened something in her so that when Mary enters her home and her unborn baby leaps she instantly recognizes the magnitude of Mary's baby, "How is it that the mother of my Lord should come to me". It is the first record of declaration of Jesus' Lordship and all before He is even born. By faith, she simply knows.
Mary is another story, isn't she? We protestants make too little of her, nearly making her a footnote to the wonder and drama unfolding. In all probability she was a teenager. I don't think it is proper to make too many comparisons between teenagers of our culture and teenagers in Mary's culture but Gabriel's announcement that she is highly favored does indicate there is something special about this young woman. We quickly learn how special she is with her response, "I am the handmaiden of the Lord". Such submission, such faith. It should startle us at our core. She has only a glimpse of what she is agreeing to. No one will believe her story and she knows that will mean becoming an outcast. She will always have to cast her heart, soul and body into the hands of the unseen God she reveres.
Shortly after the birth of Jesus, she finds herself in Jerusalem, her baby swept up in the arms of an old man, Simeon. And it is then she is told a sword will pierce her heart. What teenager can bear such news? A young woman of faith.
I am also struck by one other note regarding Mary; she is the only person to know, without faith, she conceived as a virgin by the Holy Spirit. In some way, this sets her apart but does not mitigate what she would always endure for the rest if her life in that culture. Surely there were those that believed her but I am just as sure that most would not and would always look on her with whispered suspicions. It takes faith and strength beyond her years to be willing to walk that journey.
So, two mothers revolve around each other in the opening of this Advent season. Two women of deep faith in the goodness of God. They call me to ponder anew my own faith.
Monday, November 28, 2016
Monday, November 21, 2016
Sleepless
Two weeks ago on Monday night I could not go to sleep. I finally ended up getting up after about three hours of fitful sleep. I remember because I could not shut down. On Monday evening I am usually outside with my dog Murphy and my computer and my Bible getting ready for the Bible study I lead on Tuesday mornings. Its a small group of men, six of us. We've been meeting for about seven years.
We are currently looking at the gospels, attempting to look at them all at once. I use a parallel website that puts the recorded events together so it is easier to look at the four gospels as a whole. Two weeks ago we started looking at the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, chapters 5, 6 & 7. I'd spent that evening looking at the opening, the "blessed are's" that begin this magnificent discourse. I wrote out some thoughts about the different blesseds that are listed and found myself so caught up that I simply could not shut down when I went to bed.
I fear I will once again be unable to shut down tonight. Maybe writing here will help me, but I doubt it.
I keep thinking about the response recorded at the end of the discourse, the people were amazed at Jesus' teaching and His authority. I am putting myself in that place, sitting there and trying to "listen" as if I'd never heard these words before. Tonight I am caught up in His telling those gathered that we are salt and light. He tells us this right after turning their world upside down by telling them what is really important in the Kingdom of God - the opening "blesseds". They really did turn things upside down for those listening that day and still do when we lay alongside what He tells us is important in the Kingdom side by side to our own culture of what is important for success.
So now those hearing, both then and now, are salt and light. Wow! Not the theologically learned, not the professors in hallowed halls of learning, not those out doing the extraordinary, but the poor in spirit, those that mourn, those that are meek, those that hunger and thirst for righteousness, those that forgive, those that are peacemakers. It boggles my mind.
He then goes on to say He came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it. Then he gives example after example of ways we think we keep and obey the law only to hear how being angry at a brother is the equivalent of murder, that lust is adultery. The rest of the passage pins us to the wall with the choice of perfection or humble submission to what is to come, namely His righteousness indwelling me via the Holy Spirit given at second birth.
He completely turns their world, and our religious world upside down, if we but listen carefully.
Tonight, I am once again captured by Him, His clarity and mystery alongside His authority. Man, I just want to follow this guy. He's really something. I do fear though, that I will have a hard time shutting down to sleep.
We are currently looking at the gospels, attempting to look at them all at once. I use a parallel website that puts the recorded events together so it is easier to look at the four gospels as a whole. Two weeks ago we started looking at the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, chapters 5, 6 & 7. I'd spent that evening looking at the opening, the "blessed are's" that begin this magnificent discourse. I wrote out some thoughts about the different blesseds that are listed and found myself so caught up that I simply could not shut down when I went to bed.
I fear I will once again be unable to shut down tonight. Maybe writing here will help me, but I doubt it.
I keep thinking about the response recorded at the end of the discourse, the people were amazed at Jesus' teaching and His authority. I am putting myself in that place, sitting there and trying to "listen" as if I'd never heard these words before. Tonight I am caught up in His telling those gathered that we are salt and light. He tells us this right after turning their world upside down by telling them what is really important in the Kingdom of God - the opening "blesseds". They really did turn things upside down for those listening that day and still do when we lay alongside what He tells us is important in the Kingdom side by side to our own culture of what is important for success.
So now those hearing, both then and now, are salt and light. Wow! Not the theologically learned, not the professors in hallowed halls of learning, not those out doing the extraordinary, but the poor in spirit, those that mourn, those that are meek, those that hunger and thirst for righteousness, those that forgive, those that are peacemakers. It boggles my mind.
He then goes on to say He came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it. Then he gives example after example of ways we think we keep and obey the law only to hear how being angry at a brother is the equivalent of murder, that lust is adultery. The rest of the passage pins us to the wall with the choice of perfection or humble submission to what is to come, namely His righteousness indwelling me via the Holy Spirit given at second birth.
He completely turns their world, and our religious world upside down, if we but listen carefully.
Tonight, I am once again captured by Him, His clarity and mystery alongside His authority. Man, I just want to follow this guy. He's really something. I do fear though, that I will have a hard time shutting down to sleep.
Sunday, November 13, 2016
Lap
I can't write easily with him on my lap. I am sitting on my front porch on a warm November afternoon and I can't write sitting off to the side so my lap is cocked off towards my left in such a way to accommodate my dog Murphy.
There, that is better. I put him down. You see, he is a Yorkshire Terrier, Shitzhu mix. The Yorkie in him causes Murphy to act like an idiot when someone comes to the door. His protective nature kicks in and he barks up a storm that causes my wife great consternation. The Shitzhu (forgive me if I am spelling this incorrectly) is another area that causes him to crave my lap. My understanding is that this breed was bred to sit on the Chinese Royal's lap. I sit outside here to do much thinking and studying for some of my commitments and it is here that I often choose to write here. He will be good off my lap for a period of time but then will start to whine and cry to come back up and sit a while. He simply needs some lap time from me. I can tell him "no" and he will, more often than not, accept my rebuff but eventually I will have to give in and let him leap up on my lap.
I've recently been thinking about this act of sitting on a lap. At 63 I am well past sitting on someone's lap but I recall fondly sitting on my father's lap when I was very little. Dad would let me sit on his lap while he read the local newspaper in the evening. Often our little black dog, Zeke, would join us. I felt safe and comforted.
I am also thinking of having my own children and now my grandson sit on my lap. It was a comfort to me as well as a comfort to them. Lap sitting is a very comforting and healthy place for little ones as they grow. Eventually though we grow too large for the laps we once occupied.
Please take a moment and think about your own experiences of lap-sitting. Hopefully you had those times of comfort and deep physical contact with a loved one and you can, with some effort, recall those feelings associated with lap-sitting.
My church family is looking at growing closer to God through a 4-part series of messages. There are many ways that we need to be intentional about if we are to grow close to our ever-present Abba and I am looking forward to hearing more of what is to come. I find it interesting that for about a month I've been thinking about my dog Murphy and his need for my lap and some of the spiritual implications of this need that I still carry as an adult. I've thought about writing here about this and this desire to write now coincides with this important series of messages.
While I am looking forward to hearing more, I am finding I need to approach this simply. I am reminded of a couple of things Jesus taught. First was His reiteration of the Great Commandment, to love God with our whole heart, mind and strength. The second thing that falls along side this reminder is His conviction that we need and have a Father, Abba and He longs to be our father. Jesus modeled well that relationship while on earth. Implied in this is our continued child-likeness that is needed, required in this relationship with Abba.
We grow physically and can no longer enjoy the comfort once had in the lap of a parent or grandparent but I think we still need to find some lap-sitting for our souls. We are children of the Most High and He has come to us, we are in Him and He is in us. Why not place ourselves in His lap? Why should we not recall our own memories of lap-sitting and ask God to become the parent He is and let the comfort of His presence enfold our souls as we recall the safety and comfort we once had with our earthly parents?
Let those memories come along side your God-given imagination and let yourself sit in His lap. It may feel a little silly or juvenile but if we are honest with ourselves, we may admit we long for that experience from time to time. For me, I find it easiest to find this comfortable posture when I am outside, especially when I am sheltered by a tree. Maybe a comfortable chair is a better place for some of you. The point is to say "yes" to God's invitation for intimacy and comfort with His presence. Take a moment and find some quiet and ask to sit in His loving embrace, His loving lap and see where He will take your soul.
Well, Murphy is getting insistent for my lap again. I've rebuffed him three or four times while writing this so I think I need to invite him back up.
There, that is better. I put him down. You see, he is a Yorkshire Terrier, Shitzhu mix. The Yorkie in him causes Murphy to act like an idiot when someone comes to the door. His protective nature kicks in and he barks up a storm that causes my wife great consternation. The Shitzhu (forgive me if I am spelling this incorrectly) is another area that causes him to crave my lap. My understanding is that this breed was bred to sit on the Chinese Royal's lap. I sit outside here to do much thinking and studying for some of my commitments and it is here that I often choose to write here. He will be good off my lap for a period of time but then will start to whine and cry to come back up and sit a while. He simply needs some lap time from me. I can tell him "no" and he will, more often than not, accept my rebuff but eventually I will have to give in and let him leap up on my lap.
I've recently been thinking about this act of sitting on a lap. At 63 I am well past sitting on someone's lap but I recall fondly sitting on my father's lap when I was very little. Dad would let me sit on his lap while he read the local newspaper in the evening. Often our little black dog, Zeke, would join us. I felt safe and comforted.
I am also thinking of having my own children and now my grandson sit on my lap. It was a comfort to me as well as a comfort to them. Lap sitting is a very comforting and healthy place for little ones as they grow. Eventually though we grow too large for the laps we once occupied.
Please take a moment and think about your own experiences of lap-sitting. Hopefully you had those times of comfort and deep physical contact with a loved one and you can, with some effort, recall those feelings associated with lap-sitting.
My church family is looking at growing closer to God through a 4-part series of messages. There are many ways that we need to be intentional about if we are to grow close to our ever-present Abba and I am looking forward to hearing more of what is to come. I find it interesting that for about a month I've been thinking about my dog Murphy and his need for my lap and some of the spiritual implications of this need that I still carry as an adult. I've thought about writing here about this and this desire to write now coincides with this important series of messages.
While I am looking forward to hearing more, I am finding I need to approach this simply. I am reminded of a couple of things Jesus taught. First was His reiteration of the Great Commandment, to love God with our whole heart, mind and strength. The second thing that falls along side this reminder is His conviction that we need and have a Father, Abba and He longs to be our father. Jesus modeled well that relationship while on earth. Implied in this is our continued child-likeness that is needed, required in this relationship with Abba.
We grow physically and can no longer enjoy the comfort once had in the lap of a parent or grandparent but I think we still need to find some lap-sitting for our souls. We are children of the Most High and He has come to us, we are in Him and He is in us. Why not place ourselves in His lap? Why should we not recall our own memories of lap-sitting and ask God to become the parent He is and let the comfort of His presence enfold our souls as we recall the safety and comfort we once had with our earthly parents?
Let those memories come along side your God-given imagination and let yourself sit in His lap. It may feel a little silly or juvenile but if we are honest with ourselves, we may admit we long for that experience from time to time. For me, I find it easiest to find this comfortable posture when I am outside, especially when I am sheltered by a tree. Maybe a comfortable chair is a better place for some of you. The point is to say "yes" to God's invitation for intimacy and comfort with His presence. Take a moment and find some quiet and ask to sit in His loving embrace, His loving lap and see where He will take your soul.
Well, Murphy is getting insistent for my lap again. I've rebuffed him three or four times while writing this so I think I need to invite him back up.
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