Happy New Year

As one year closes and another begins, I pray that all who make their way to these pages will be blessed in their pursuit of that which is good and right, that God's Spirit might rest upon all, and that joy will be found in the imitation of Jesus.

Even as I write such sentiments my heart is heavy for the burden of tens of thousands who have lost lives and homes and families in southeast Asia. No one of us should go throughout a day without a keen sense of the tentative and fragile nature of life. . . .

Pick and Choose

Received an email letter from an acquaintance the other day that raised again for me what pluralism looks like in today’s culture. Elements of Christian belief, Buddhism, and outright materialism were blended almost seamlessly together, shaping his worldview into something that fit for him. Pragmatically speaking, whatever works to make the world look orderly “to me,” is what I take to be true.

I certainly understand the strength of learning from various points of view but what is happening in greater and greater ways is the adaption of whatever thought or ideal or value that happens to coincide with my current state of affairs as being the truth.

Are we practicing a form of idolatry by taking whatever ideas fit us in the moment? Some would say that there are no objective standards that govern our lives and our choices. In a sense, such a statement is true. However, standards do exist. And prevalent is the standard that says I can change my standard to whatever makes sense for my situation in the moment.

All the while we reduce our world smaller and smaller until the only thing left. . . . is me.

Alas!

The Colts are in the playoffs, Christmas is bringing some quiet time (hopefully) to be with family, and it supposed to be 50 degrees in Atlanta today. These are all good things!

The only thing that is hanging out there that I'm not quite sure what to do with is Vickie's idea that I should do so tile work in the kitchen next week. She did say I had some options. She said I could go to Lowes. . . or to Home Depot!

Christmas Traditions

Our family tradition during Christmas time means gathering at the end of the day around the tree with every child with a lit candle. When the kids were younger this meant that I came to the tree with a fire extinguisher. Already this year we have had wax in the carpet and one burned finger!

But we persist in our craziness!

So we gather with the room dark, the tree lit, the candles flickering, and one of the children reads a text that flows out of the Advent season. This is followed by conversation, questions (sometimes calculated to extend the time so they don't have to get to bed as early as their parents would like!), and general dialogue. Then we sing several carols, we take time for everyone to prayer, and then we send them up to bed singing "Silent Night" with their candles lit. Mom follows along with a snuffer (and aloe vera) and tucks each of them in. I tag along behind and say good night as well.

Odd tradition isn't it? But our kids love it. Vickie loves it. And me. . . . I think its the best thing about the season.

White, Blue or True?

What is Christmas really about? I know that Elvis is afraid that he will have a blue Christmas and Bing wants a white one. Mariah wants you to come home—maybe to eat those well-roasted chestnuts that have been in fireplace since last year! Is Christmas about end-of-year parties, family celebrations? What do we make of the frenzy of shoping and buying and parties and travel? What is the meaning of Christmas?

Maybe Christmas is not about any of those things. It may be that in thinking that Christmas is about such things that we set ourselves up for what so many people experiences as the holiday blahs. Maybe the meaning of Christmas would best be seen from a different vista.

What if we turned to meditate on the wonder of a young girl who finds herself with a very unplanned pregnancy? A girl who finds herself having to explain to her husband-to-be that what has happened to her was really not her doing at all. And then there is a man whose family had picked what everyone thought was a good girl from a good home who now is faced with the delicate situation of dissolving the intended marriage in light of what we could say was growing evidence of Mary’s unfaithfulness.

Maybe Christmas finds meaning in these two people who accept God’s work and have faith in God’s message and who bring into the world a little child that receives a name that echoes with hope. “Call him Jesus—that is, God saves.”

Martin Niemoller, a Lutheran pastor imprisoned by Hitler in WW2, said it well in a sermon while in prison in 1944: “You need not go to search for God; you should not imagine that He is far from you and is not concerned with what crushes you! He is here and is close to you in the man who, as a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, was lying in the manger. All your need is so far from being alien to him that on the contrary he gave himself freely in order to bear it with you.”

Niemoller concludes the thought by saying that “whoever can grasp this in faith is not forsaken in prison and in death.” The message of Christmas is the message of God’s action in Jesus Christ that offers hope to those who will believe.

What you believe matters

I know it isn't popular, but thinking deeply about beliefs are important. For what a person believes guides and shapes what a person does. Luke Timothy Johnson states it well:

"If I think the world is a struggle for survival, I will distrust and battle everyone I meet. If I think that owning more means being more, and also think that there is only a limited number of possessions available, I will compete with you for these limited goods. On the other hand, if I believe that resoureces are infinitely available and that, in any case, no amount of having can increase being, I will share with you."

"If people think that God creates the world, their life ought to reflect that conviction by thanksgiving, reverence, and sharing. But if they believe that the world is simply the result of accidental processes, they need not be grateful at all, but can take from others whatever they want and can get. Likewise, if they believe that God creates everything visible and invisible, they should refuse to regard or treat any part of the world as despicable or disposable. If Christians believe that the church is catholic, they should welcome diversity within the church. If they believe 'in the resureection of the body and life everlasting,' then they should not act as if sustaining mortal life at all costs is a supreme good." (Johnson, CREED)

Our conduct and our actions are rooted to what we believe. The thing that disconcerts me is how many people can truly, cogently state their beliefs. If a person is not able to articulate faith, then the natural, usual movement is to fill that vacuum with whatever media, politics, and social pressure is current at the moment.

Equally disconcerting is an examination of what it is that Christians say they believe. A recent Bill Moyers piece suggests that a growing number of conservative Christians believe that the end time will be hastened if the earth becomes more polluted. So, the reasoning follows, the thing to do is to ignore environmental matters to more rapidly advance the second coming. Such convoluted thinking enforces the critical need to examine deeply the nature and content of Christian faith.

Garbage in, garbage out is still true.

Frozen Pizza

My kids love frozen pizza. I don't really understand it. The only thing that I do understand is that it is something easy and simple. Frozen pizza at our house is usually associated with watching movie; it may be associated with mom and dad going out. Of course, they like real pizza as well!

But I've been wondering. The ease of frozen food or fast food has so ingrained itself into our consciousness that the line between "fake" food and "real" food begins to fade. Peaches from a can are preferred to a fresh peach. McDonalds' over a backyard grill or TV dinners receive higher ratings than a homemade dinner.

Could there be a correlation with food preference and spirituality? The rush to buy a celebrity’s latest book on spirituality or the Christian life causes parking problems at the local Christian bookstore. How-to manuals abound on bookshelves. Web-based spiritual pick-me-ups proliferate the internet. The allure of reading the latest and being informed on the hottest dominates conversations in the church hallway.

Frozen pizza.

I know that throwing something in the microwave for 7 minutes is easy. But what happens to life when eating is reduced to cardboard. And I know that reading a paragraph on the daily Christian calendar is easy for your spiritual diet, but what happens to life when walking with God is reduced to snatching a gem on the back of door before you leave for work?

Lingering over scripture, pondering thoughtfully over a well-written book, engaging in prayer, committing to a small group for study or prayer, doing ministry for others or practicing gratitude takes time and effort. But real worship and service comes out of a life of engagement, not out of sound bites.

Like a well-prepared meal of nutritious ingredients loving prepared satisfies the body in a way that Waffle House can’t, the diligence of the spiritual disciplines yields nutrients that nourish the soul.

Dig in to the wealth of God's bounty. Refuse to settle for canned gospel or frozen passion.

Incredible Sharks

Apparently, the culture debate roars in kid's movies this holiday season. Gay sharks? Overachieving comicbook heroes? See Frederica Matthewes-Green's opinion piece for sane read on the matter.








http://www.beliefnet.com/story/157/story_15744_1.html

Matthew's genius

I've been working in Matthew off and on for a couple of years now. And Matthew keeps impressing me. By Matthew, I mean the gospel of Matthew, the first and perhaps the most systematic of the gospels.

For example, Matthew 13 presents a series of parables about the kingdom. Clearly Matthew is up to something. He is working out about the nature of the kingdom through Jesus' parables. However, beginning in 13.54, Matthew presents five stories that reflect varied sorts of human response to the kingdom--whether is the hometown crowd of Nazareth or the a disciple's wavering conviction while walking on the water.

In a way that echoes the parable of the sower who plants in different soils, the sorts of response to Jesus' message--from rejection all the way to unqualified embrace--Matthew illustrates with story.

It makes me wonder who are respond to the message of the kingdom from day to day. It is strange and disconcerting to find that it was the out-of-the-way folk, the non-Jewish people of Gennesaret who welcomed Jesus freely.

Community

What changes? What stays the same?

Technology and communication are changing more quickly than the operating systems on my computer. Equipment is out of date before the new wears off. People are let go from jobs and workplaces spin on dimes trying to stay abreast of the least little twitch in some market.

Family life is changing. There are more single people living my neighborhood than married people. I expect that it is the same for your neighborhood as well. Cars are now advertized as being the place where you live, work, eat, and I suppose--with the advent of DVD, play.

Is anything the same?

The basic human need to connect in a meaningful way to another human and to God. The sad thing is that attempts to make such connections are more usually attempted through means that end up in dead ends.

That's why church is so important. Not the building, not the institution. Maybe a better, more useful word is community. God's people gathering in community. Together God's people pursue relationship with God, with each other, and model meaningful life and existence.

That will always be the same.

Quote du Jour

"Intercession is the most intensely social act the human being is capable of. When it is carried on secretly, it is mercifully preserved from, in fact, almost immunized against, the possible corruptions to which all outer dees of service for others are subject." --Douglas V. Steere

And so I pray for others--named and nameless, past and present. Hear my prayers, O Lord.