The Word became flesh and moved into the neighborhood

The Word was first, 

the Word present to God, God present to the Word. 

The Word was God, in readiness for God from day one. 

Everything was created through him; nothing - not one thing - came into being without him. What came into existence was Life, and the Life was Light to live by. The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness couldn't put it out. 

The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. 

We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son. Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.

There was once a man, his name was John, sent by God to point out the way to the Life-Light came to show everyone where to look, who to believe in. John was not himself the Light; he was there to show the way to the Light. 

(John 1, The Message)

The Word became flesh, became one of us, the same as us, human, wrapped up in skin with bones and muscles and tendons, with a heart and other organs and a brain inside a head. Jesus was like us in appearance and was GOD!!! WOW!!! This season of coming, of Advent, of waiting, of hope, of expectation, of new things, of new birth, of God being WITH, the gift of with, and all because His creation needed restoration and redemption. How do we live well with the already and the not-yet? We long for peace and grace and life and light. As we draw nearer to December 21, the winter solstice, the shortest day, the one that has the least light, we long for light. Light that has come, that will come again.

"Every person entering Life he brings into the Light."

Do not fear

Exactly a year ago yesterday I was invited to preach to the residents of Covenant village which is a senior living complex. I was unsure of what to share as what can I say to them that they do not already know? How many Advents and Decembers have they experienced that the familiar story of God breaking into the human world in the form of another human is so known to them that nothing new could be told? The text for the day was from the gospel of Luke and I was specifically looking at vv26-38, the moment when God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee. Gabriel's job was to go to a young woman (also known as a virgin) that was pledged to be married to a man named Joseph. Luke gives us a detail about Joseph - he is a descendant of David. David was a king some few hundred years back, his story being chronicled in the Old Testament books of the Kings and the Chronicles.

Gabriel came to the young woman, whose name was Mary and he said these words to her: "Greetings, you who are highly favored. The Lord is with you" (Luke 1:28). Now to us who know the end of the story, and the gist of what is going to happen with the child that she will carry in the next few weeks, months and years, these words are great words. Who would not want to know that they are highly favored and not only that, but the Lord is with me? Sounds like the sort of thing I am really longing to hear now please. However Mary's response to what she saw and heard was the following;  

"Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be."

If an angel appeared to me telling me such marvelous things I might respond in a similar way in my "greatly troubled-ness." That is to say that I would be completely freaked out of my wits and most likely tell him to go and talk to someone else much more deserving than me and leave me alone.  The gospel writer Luke, being a doctor, has a "doctor-like" matter of fact way of telling the story. He is a detailed person and so wants to get the facts out and was probably a little less concerned with Mary's reaction of amazement and utter terrifiedness.  So Gabriel is sensitive to put Mary at her ease as is possible for an angel to do, given the circumstances so he talks gently to her:

"Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God . You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end" (Luke 1:30-33).

The words that stand out for me are these; "Do not be afraid." This is not the first time Gabriel has said these words to a human being. Mary's cousin, Elizabeth is married to Zechariah. Both are "well along in years," so too old in human terms to have a baby, but with God, nothing is impossible and Gabriel says as much to the man. Gabriel also told Zechariah, "Do not be afraid..." Zechariah's reaction to this visit from the angel was to be "gripped with fear;" much more afraid than Mary, who was merely troubled!

How many of us are or have been at some point afraid? From the number of times that the command not to be afraid is in some shape or form mentioned throughout both the Old and the New Testaments to people like you and me means that being afraid was a common thing to be. Of all the commands in the Bible,  the most frequent command is to not be afraid. That is what we are called to do when there is every reason to be afraid. When we are not sure what we are going to hear when we make routine or not visit to the doctor, or are with people waiting to hear results of scans. We are not to fear when we have no idea how we are to pay for the latest drip through the ceiling into the first floor because we are already living on the edge of our resources. We are not to be afraid when we can't see the road ahead of us, either because there seem to be few viable options or the options available to us are will cause other issues that will ensue more fear.

Yet here it is, as clear as day: "Do not be afraid..." Neither Mary nor Joseph, not Zechariah or his wife, Elizabeth knew what the next few years would bring. Both mothers would see their children suffer and die. One would give birth to the one who was God's way of redeeming the world to himself and the other's son would be the one that went before him even though he was before him (John 1:15). All they both knew at this point is that they would give birth to baby boys. The rest would be too much for them to take in at this point.

Are we able in this advent season to not be afraid, no matter how many unknowns there are in the coming days? It is not easy, but the command is clear; "Do not be afraid.......do not fear....."

"Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him..."

A childlike faith

I have known the Christmas story for many years. When I was a child, probably around 7 or 8, I was chosen to play the part of Mary in a nativity play. I had a blue dress and wore a dish towel over my head - I think it was a dish towel, and I got to hold the baby Jesus and speak to an angel in a white bath robe with tinsel around his head. There were shepherds in their bath robes; one cried because he was pushed by the head shepherd and that was not the way we had rehearsed the play. I held hands with a boy named Joseph who was going to be my husband, and said my lines in the right order at the right time much to the relief of my mother. I sat down with a sheep and a goat and a camel (the stuffed toy kind not the bleating, smelly and real kind). I meekly bowed my head on cue and looked lovingly at the baby doll lying upon my crib which was surrounded by straw and softer things upon which to sit. There came wise men from the east, the other side of the church, bringing their shiny gifts and announced to all assembled that they had made the long journey because they had followed a star that gave light to all around. It was such a bright star that it must mean something special and they were star-studying experts. And so they followed the light and came down the green steps to visit me, Mary, and my husband, Joseph, and offer those gifts to my new born baby lying peacefully and gently in my doll's crib.

Many churches across denominations will re-enact this story in these December days. Every year we do this to remind ourselves and our fellow human beings that long time ago in Bethlehem, so the Holy Bible says, this really did happen. That indeed a shoot came up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch did appear. That the Spirit of the Lord rested on him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord, and he delighted in the fear of the Lord. The Spirit of the Lord anointed Him to proclaim good news to the poor, sent to bind up the brokenhearted, proclaiming freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners. His name is Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of peace (Isaiah 11).

Whenever God's story is presented, no matter how we choose to do that, with children, or grown ups or a combination of both, God's truth is revealed. Perhaps we don't see a lot of peace or wisdom or understanding in our own lives and of those around us and we are mistakenly led to think therefore that the child in the manger was really just a doll, just a nice story, and the children re-enacting the picture were just cute little kids doing what the grown ups told them to do. Perhaps it really is just a nice story, suitable for bedtime reading but not having any more significance for our lives than that.

Or perhaps God really has entered into the human story by being with us, by coming disguised as one of us. Perhaps the truth is that we have missed the signs and we are much like the innkeeper or guesthouse owner who didn't recognize that the young couple knocking at the door looking for safe sanctuary was actually the human parents chosen to care for the most precious gift they could have.
Perhaps we need to return to our childhood selves and in our grown up understanding see through the dishtowels and bathrobes and soft, squishy straw so that we will be once again filled with awe and hope and expectation. Hope that is beyond our comprehension even in our grown-up-ness; that God in so wanting to reveal Himself to us, to redeem us, and walk us through how to live in His kingdom would come as one of us,  the Son of God in wrapped in human skin and vulnerability.

This is what the Lord Almighty says: "In those days ten people from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, 

'Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you'" (Zechariah 8:23).

Monday - 2nd in Advent

My heart, O God, is steadfast; I will and make music with all my soul. Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;

I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, higher than the heavens ; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth. 

Save us and help us with your right hand, that those you love may be delivered 

(Psalm 108: 1-6).

The psalmist is so wanting to praise God that they are prepared to arise before it is light, before the dawn has taken over from the dark of the night. By the time it gets to this time of year, that is not so hard as it is still dark when most of us get up. But the point is that the worship of the Lord is so crucial, so needed, so essential for the day that the getting up part is not even worth thinking about. Everyone awake! Look! I will praise you, Lord, among the nations for it was to the nations that you came. The Lord Jesus, came into the world as a tiny baby, just as we do. God so loved the world that God put on skin and walked among us.

Jesus Christ came into the world to set his people free, to be set free from the bondage of sin, of despair, of destruction, and of decay.

The gospel writer John, records Jesus' words to Nicodemus:

 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him...light has come into the world."
(John 3:16-17)

This is for us - for all of us, for every human being who has ever walked this earth, who has been born into this created world that was a gift from the Creator. Great is your love, Lord. So great that you came so quietly, so unexpectedly, You had prepared the way for Your coming but so many missed it. So many missed the event that was to change the world. We were not ready but You had already done all the preparation by declaring the news through Your prophets, speaking of the event over and over, promising that there would be a day when the true light would come to the world that You have created but the coming would be do different from our expectations we were not prepared. Yet still You allow us to come as we are.

Save us and help us....help us see You for who You are. No longer a tiny helpless baby, but a great and glorious King who is coming again to reign. 

Come, Lord Jesus....

Advent 2nd Sunday

This week of Advent reflects on peace. Nearing the end of his letter to the Philippians the apostle Paul tells his readers that the Lord is near and therefore to not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God (Phil 4:6). And then he continues:

"...And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (v7).

A pastor friend calls this the peace that makes no sense. This is the peace that we have because of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. There is no other way we can have this kind of inconceivable peace and as far is the world is concerned we should have no peace, but we do because of Jesus Christ. This is the peace that comes from above comes because we are fully relying on God and on his promises. This is the peace that Jesus promised when he was with his disciples and the door were locked for their fear of the Jews. He came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Just to make certain that the disciples caught those words, Jesus showed them his hands and his side and said again, "Peace be with you" (John 20:19-23).

How can we have peace when we don't know from where the next pay check is coming or the fear of foreclosure on a home is frighteningly close? Where is the peace when our children are making choices that are not so helpful and walking with the Lord for them something for which they no longer have the time? What about our job security? How can we have peace when there is no job for us to work? What about the future? The future is unclear, uncertain, and God seems distant and silent on our fears and hopes and dreams. Where is the peace when we can't see what tomorrow will hold or when the diagnosis is not what we want to hear?

The arrival of Jesus Christ into the world, the saviour of the world, was promised from the beginning. He is the Prince of Peace, the glory of the Lord revealed. Peace that the world brings is not peace at all. Peace that the world brings is dependent on me, dependent on my circumstances, dependent on my feelings, dependent on the things that I can provide and dependent on what is visible, and on what I already know. The peace that comes from the knowledge of the Lord does not depend on me. That peace, the kind that makes no sense, the like of which is beyond our understanding is only available to me because the light of the world came into the world and He is coming again.
Listen to the words of Isaiah:

"Do you not know?  

Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint"

(Isaiah 40:28-31).

I do not know how this works. I have no idea how there is so much uncertainty all around me and while my expectations may be crashing down and yet somehow, incredibly, inexplicable, I have peace because I believe in the One who made me and has promised me and given me this peace. It is not easy, I don't pretend that it is but there is the peace that makes no sense, no sense at all. Only by God's grace do I have this peace and only by God's grace will I continue to have it.

Prepare the way of the Lord...

Day 4 in Advent

This morning in chapel, I was reminded that Jesus is coming again - for the second time. The first time he came as a helpless baby, needing as much care and attention as any new born would need. However when Jesus was walking around on earth over 2000 years ago, he spoke clearly on what would be happening in the world before his second coming.

The story is not pretty.  

"Many will come in my name," Jesus said, "and will deceive many." He continues,  "When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come...You must be on your guard You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them..." And he goes on: "But in those days, following that distress, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light...At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory."

This is not fluffy, attractive reading. It is certainly far cry picture from the away in a manger stable with angels and shepherds and the baby Jesus hanging out alongside the camels and the donkeys and the wise men. But these words are straight out of the gospel of Mark, chapter 13, right there all red-lettered as can be. We can't ignore this truth just because we don't like it.

Jesus' words later in that same chapter - 32-37 say this:

"But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! Keep watch!"

No one knows at what time that will be so don't predicate; anticipate. Be ready. What does that mean? Know that Jesus is coming again - we celebrate his first coming because it's already happened and therefore we can imagine it because we have seen it and touched it and heard it many times. What we have not yet seen, we can't imagine because we want to control how it's done and that's not our job. It is easier in our human minds to imagine a cute, little baby...the Son of Man coming on clouds with great power and glory...not so easy to take in. 

Our instructions are to be alert. Be ready. Be assured that Jesus could come back any day and he asks us to be ready. Are we ready?

O Come, o come, Emmanuel...

Day 3 in Advent

"The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord" (Lamentations 3:25-26)

In July of 2009, I drove from Bend, OR to Chicago, IL. I was returning to Seminary for my final year of school having spent a year in Oregon as an intern. The year certainly had its challenging moments and difficulties, but as I drove east, the grandeur of the mountains faded in my rear view mirror. I was overwhelmed with sadness as in that short period of time, I had grown to love not only the people with whom I had come into contact, but the majesty and beauty all around me. As I continued to drive, I clearly heard heard God say to me, "I can be that good to you again." I could probably count on one hand (if that) how many times I have heard God speak so clearly and directly to me. Since that time I have considered what "good" might mean. I am currently a foreigner and alien living in a country not my own. I do not have a permanent, full time job, and the future has many questions of which I cannot yet answer.

However, once again the prophet tells us to wait on the Lord. God is good to those who wait on him. I wonder what that good looks like. Is it that the good is yet to come or am I already living in the midst of good? Surely there is something good about every day, even the ones that are not so good. I think the answer is in the middle;

"...to the one who seeks him."

"Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near" (Isaiah 55:6).

God has revealed himself to us in multiple ways. Perhaps the good for me is to be able to seek God even more diligently than I might do if all around me were comfortable, if the next steps were clearly laid out. Perhaps that is God's good for me right now. Jeremiah writes that the Lord is good to those who hope in him. Hope, not expect. Hope for the good that God has for us, whatever that looks like.

O come, o come, Emmanuel...

Day 2 - Advent monday...on tuesday

This post was actually for yesterday but as I do not have easy access to the internet on my computer right now, I did not get the post published. And so, I am writing yesterday's post today.

When I was growing up, my parents always purchased an advent calender for my brother and me. We took turns in opening the doors and I always let him open the first one, not because I was super nice and generous but as my birthday landed on an even day (6th), I wanted to open the door that day. I also became aware that December 24 was always the biggest door and so I would get to open that one too. It had nothing to do with the first shall be last and the last shall be first...

It is cold today, almost cold enough for a snow fall. I am reminded of the song, "In the bleak mid-winter." The words continue, "...Frosty wind made moan. Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone. Snow had fallen snow on snow, in the bleak mid-winter, long, long ago."
It is not quite like that yet, but those of us who live in the Mid-west are bracing ourselves to the reality that it's going to get mighty cold out there. The light does not last long either. The sky tonight was losing it's light by 4.30. However, the sky was a glorious array of pinks, orange, and blue giving me a picture of light and beauty reminding me that there is hope in the light even though we only have it for a while.

Jeremiah wrote of God's faithfulness in Lamentations:

"I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall...Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:

Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning: great is your faithfulness. I will say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him'" (Lamentations 3:19, 22-24)

Waiting is not easy. Waiting is not hip. Waiting is not what we want to do when we really want something to happen. Waiting is sometimes too much for us because all around people don't wait. I can hardly wait for my computer to turn on and be ready for me to use. Waiting is not what we are encouraged to do in our daily life but throughout all his hardships and disappointments, Jeremiah learned to wait. Not only that, but he waited on what God had for him, not for what he wanted.

Advent causes us to wait, not to rush forward, but to wait on the Lord and what he has for us. This is not an easy task....it's so counter cultural, it's almost impossible for us to do. But if we wait, we will see God's faithfulness, we will have what we need for this day.

O come, o come, Emmanuel...

First Sunday in Advent

The Season of Advent starts today, November 24, 2011, the fourth Sunday before Christmas. This is the season, before the Season of Christmas, when we deliberately think about God coming to earth as a human being, fully God, fully human in the person of Jesus. The promises of God to redeem all creation, which includes everything – every human, every living thing, every creature, every plant and fruit-bearing tree (everything), God’s revelation of Himself in Christ, the Word becoming flesh, making his dwelling among us and all this because God so LOVED the world. These are why we are waiting.

Seeing God’s glory, majesty and splendor might seem to be hard and perhaps implausible in our current world. We live in a world where this is much darkness and destruction. Nations are fighting nations, rejoicing when others are destroyed, we see only what is directly in front of us. After seeing picture after picture of poverty and destitution, bleakness and despair we turn our heads back to our dinner tables because the problems are so enormous that it is easier to turn our backs and be oblivious to that which is outside of our comprehension and instead we concentrate on our own troubles. And yet, God has promised that he is with us and that there is hope that this is not for what we were born.

Listen to how the Old Testament the prophet, Isaiah writes:

In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations stream to it.

Many peoples will come and say,

“Come, let us to up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.”

The law will go out from Zion, the world of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for way anymore.

Come, house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord” (Isaiah 2:2-5)

“…They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks…” There will be a day when nations will no longer rise up and fight other nations, or each other and we will walk in the light of the Lord. That day is coming; God has promised through his prophets.

So we wait, in hope and expectation, for God to reveal himself again to the world. Every morning, the news headlines tell us of another war, another faction, another nation rising up against another nation, another argument, another lie, another crisis…will there really be a time when we will all lay our weapons of war aside and indeed fashion them into tools for other use? That’s why we celebrate this time; this season of advent, of coming, of expectation that God is still working, is still moving and is still speaking to his people. My hope for this season is that it will not be just one more year that concludes with Christmas and a buying, tiring, stress-filled frenzy, but it will be a time to eagerly wait for God to enter our world and put on flesh and walk with each one of us.

“O come, o come Emmanuel…”

This is my Father's world

I have been in the State of Washington for nearly two weeks and one of the things of which I am acutely aware is being surrounded by so much beauty. It is everywhere. No matter where I turn my head, there are mountains, bodies of water demonstrating their power by throwing copious amounts of stones and wood onto the beach and the colors of the evening skies are visible markers that I live in a created world that was specially put together by a designer whose creation cannot be bettered. I am reminded of the old hymn, "This is my Father's world."

This is my Father's world, and to to my listening ears all nature sings, and round me rings the music of the sphere.

This is my Father's world: I rest me in the thought of rocks and tress, of skies and seas His hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father's world, the birds their carols raise, the morning light, the lily while, declare their makers' praise. He shines in all that's fira; in the rustling grass I hear hi pass, He speaks to me everywhere.

This is my Father's world, O let me never forget that though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet. This is my Father's world: the battle is not done; Jesus who died shall be satisfied and earth and heaven be one.

My chiropractor told me yesterday that if I were to take better care of my spine I would regain my creativity, my energy, improve my sleep patterns and upgrade my well-being to that of being so much better than it is at this present time. My creativity is partially dependent on what I see in the outside world. My eyes have seen live pictures of mountains, lakes, rivers, hills and beaches. As my eyes are the lamp of my body, what they see makes a difference to my well-being.

“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light" (Matthew 6:22).

I think my creative levels are rising up and to the right....

Are we different?

I wrote this post several weeks ago and didn't post it. I think I want to now. What is it about being a disciple of Jesus Christ that makes us any different from the rest?
This is from September, 11, 2011

I read this morning from Seth Godin's blog;

"But now more than ever, I believe we have an obligation to stand up, stand out and to do work that matters. Wherever you are, there's an opportunity to be different, with respect."

He wrote those words on September 11 under a blog title, "It's different here." He was talking about New York; the good things about a city where over 40 languages are overheard in the public library, where every kind of food is found and can be cooked any way, where the city is constantly changing, constantly active and constantly vibrant.

I like that.

It led me to consider how, as followers of Jesus Christ, we are different and in ways that really make a difference for good. I was in Panera Bread last night, getting dinner before meeting up with a friend and the servers had misplaced my order. They were so apologetic that I stopped to wonder just how often they are spoken to less then graciously when food is not before us asap. We are so used to fast food being FAST that when it is slower than fast, we show frustration and annoyance rather than grace.

We have an opportunity to be different. May we be different with respect to how we are as disciples of Jesus Christ.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

The Olympic range is behind us, snow is covering the tops of this alpine vastness. The air is thin and the landscape is calling out to be explored. Not today, though. Someday I will come back and hike this natural beauty.

The view from 5000 ft is pretty good....

Smooth crossing

This is the view from the ferry boat from Whidbey Island (Coupeville) to Port Townsend. During the 1/2 hour ferry ride I had to get outside though the open space on the boat; downstairs about 30 vehicles and their passengers waited patiently for the crossing. I was not one of them. Too many views to see and if there is a mountain or natural creation to see, I am not going to miss the opportunity.

I do not know what it is but there is something about the water to me that is therapeutic. I speak to many people who long to live next to water - some of them do. What is it that we long for? Is it the strength of the waves against the shore, or perhaps the natural ebb and flow of the water lapping to the sides of the boat - the rhythm of life and energy. Or could it be the gentle swell of the entire body of the sea wooing us to this love of the vastness of this resource?

However, I know also that the water brings danger. All along the coast line are tsunami warnings; at any time, the undercurrents of the plates could collide in an unwanted way to create incredible power that will overwhelm and destroy; we have seen the results of that devastation in other parts of the world....yet it is possible here too.

For the time that we have today, the sea is beautiful and calm; just right for a day to breathe in the clean air that we have in abundance across the waters.

Seasonal pointers and memories

The last time I was in my home country of Scotland was over the winter break in December 2009. I had just finished my penultimate semester in Seminary and had 24 hours after completing my last final to pack and get ready to fly across the ocean (on a jet plane of course). Being tired and not a little emotional at making this trip home having not been there since January 2008, I decided to do the sensible thing and go the to the all-night seminary "it is finished" party, watch a few shows of "Friends," while falling asleep on the sofa. Logical thinking led to believe that by not going to bed I would be able to finish packing and look forward to several hours at airports, airline sleeping while vertical and movies on a too small screen.

However, all that was all OK because soon I would be back with my ain (own) folk and paying for my Starbucks with pound sterling rather than dollars. Perhaps it was my rosy coloured thinking of Christmases past but all I could imagine was enjoying a Eggnog latte made at home. However, to make that particular style of latte, one needs eggnog but Scotland has bad memories of that additive as being of an alcoholic nature so it doesn't stock it - anywhere. I tried the old favourites: Marks and Spencer, Tescos, Sainburys...even Waitrose and Safeway but no one has it on their shelves. My dream of having an Eggnog latte was over - at least on this side of the ocean.

Why am I telling you this? Because today we bought, for the first time in 2011, eggnog and so tomorrow morning, that particular elixir will complement my morning coffee and I will sit on the deck, looking across to the Olympic range of mountains and thank God for this seasonal pointer to the period of time we remember and celebrate God breaking into the human world and putting on skin for us because God loved the world THAT much.

How about making the L less long?

I overheard this comment today from 2 students who were putting together a logo on the computer.

"How about making the L less long?"

Their comment did not invite a reply from me but as these words hung in the air, I couldn't help responding with the following; "Don't you mean to say how about making the L shorter?"

They turned around and smiled. "Yes. Make it shorter."

My dad loves to correct my grammar and would have pounced on this inconsistency immediately without a thought. Actually, most of his reaction in response would have come from years of grammar being drilled into him like there was no tomorrow. Both he and my mum frequently yell at TV newscasters and anchor men and women misusing comparatives:

"Less short," instead of "longer."
"More sunny," instead of "Sunnier."
"Far bigger," instead of "greater..." and so the list goes on.

However, I am wondering if being right is a good enough reason to correct another person and even if it is, the correction must be done in a manner that does not override the other's self esteem of sense of worth; in this case, for instance. If correction is to be given, it matters how it is given.

I am in the process of preparing for Sunday's sermon and I am preaching on John 4; Jesus' interaction with a woman, a woman whose name we are not given. However this woman's response to Jesus' words is running back to her town and announcing to anyone that will listen that Jesus is the Messiah, the one for whom they have been waiting, as he told her "everything" she ever did (this is not quite true as all Jesus told her was that she has had 5 husbands and the man with whom she was currently living was not her husband). But the point is that Jesus' words to her caused her to act well and not to get defensive over her past mistakes.

How we respond and react to people with our words really matters. Using our words carefully, even in correction is vital and even if the L needs to be shorter rather than less long, our need to correct must reflect that love is always the app from which we speak.

Stand up and stand out

I read this morning from Seth Godin's blog;

"But now more than ever, I believe we have an obligation to stand up, stand out and to do work that matters. Wherever you are, there's an opportunity to be different, with respect."

He wrote those words on September 11 under a blog title, "It's different here." He was talking about New York; the good things about a city where over 40 languages are overheard in the public library, where every kind of food is found and can be cooked any way, where the city is constantly changing, constantly active and constantly vibrant.

I like that.

It led me to consider how, as followers of Jesus Christ, we are different and in ways that really make a difference for good. I was in Panera Bread last night, getting dinner before meeting up with a friend and the servers had misplaced my order. They were so apologetic that I stopped to wonder just how often they are spoken to less then graciously when food is not before us asap. We are so used to fast food being FAST that when it is slower than fast, we show frustration and annoyance rather than grace.

We have an opportunity to be different. May we be different with respect to how we are as disciples of Jesus Christ.

The discipline of dreaming

I have not posted on my blog for a long time and whether or not anyone else reads this is neither here not there; I am writing as I process better when I write.

Last week I was one of 7500 attendees at the Global Leadership Summit hosted by the Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, IL. Actually there were over 130,000 people attending all across the USA via satellite sites hosted by churches and other organizations. Nearly a week has passed since the event and having read and heard much about attendees reflections and thoughts, I am wondering how many people will be saying in the next weeks, months and possibly, years, that it was this event that changed the way in which they now lead, empowered them to be courageous and move out to wherever God is leading them, and that there are no good descriptions of the impact of those 2 days. To summarize a comment from Bill Hybels, this was where they heard their "Leadership bell being rung:" LOUDLY. While listening to high caliber church, business and political leaders, this was the event where God spoke to us in such a powerful, meaningful and impacting way that there is only one way forward; create the future. Don't wait for others to create it for us.

I cannot say what will happen in the future. However I am convinced that I will be one of those people who site the 2 days of the Summit, August 11 and 12, 2011, as crucially defining moments of my life as one who follows Christ and has been given the responsibility to lead others in my role as a pastor. Phrases that come to mind describing what happened last week don't even come close to all that was going through me by Saturday; turned upside down, head messed with, never-be-the-same-again.

In the final session (the final of 12 sessions..........over 2 days), Erwin Mamanus stood up front with his Bible in hand and started to talk. Erwin was once asked if he had brought his "notes" to another message/sermon that he gave. He replied, "Notes..........notes...........yes, I have my notes." And then he directed the congregation;

"Open your notes to Matthew 11."

I frequent the website of the church, Mosaic, in LA to whom he pastors, and listen to the podcasts. Erwin ALWAYS brings such maturity and clarity to his congregation. This is some of what he shared at the Summit.

Isaiah 43: 18-19 says;

"Do not dwell on the past. Behold I am doing a new thing! Now is springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness..."
Will you even be aware of it? Will we even perceive it?

Then Erwin continued with his words;

"Evil men do not wait for permission from God to create the future they have in mind. But unfortunately good people sit idly by waiting for God to create a better world. Why do we wait for someone else to create a better future? Those of us who live in relationship to Jesus Christ should realize that we have been entrusted with this stewardship. But when you step into the presence of the creator of the universe, EVERYTHING becomes new."

Another line that resonated with me was this one from another speaker at the Summit; Seth Godin;

"We all wait to get picked. Don't wait to get picked; pick yourself."

So this is my job. To realize the that every human being has potential and to help them find and use the gifts that God has given them. I believe that every human being that has ever been born on this planet is made in the image of God with all the creativeness that comes with that image. God was a artist first; a creator first before anything else. God saw all that he had made and it was VERY GOOD.

There is a lot more that I am processing through six days after I drove home from this inspiring and motivating event. My mindset is changing. It has been challenged to change for the better.

In writing to the Romans, the Apostle Paul said this;

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2

So as I continue to process what I heard last week and figure out ways of implimenting some of what was so inspiring, I am focusing on what a new mindset looks like for me.

More on this later.

And the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us

I am reading, "Following Jesus," by N.T. Wright. Our Bible study is reading through the gospel of John and I love hearing the continual theme of light and life. Wright devotes a single chapter of the book to John's gospel and I want to share (without Wright's permission of course) his use of John 1:14 - "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."

It is so well put and so worth sharing.

On talking about Jesus being invited to the wedding in Cana, Wright says:

"The Word became flesh, and celebrated a friend's wedding; and we beheld his glory, glory as of one who takes the ordinary and transforms it into the extraordinary."

Jesus heals the centurion's servant; "The Word became flesh, and healed the sick; we beheld his glory , glory as of the sovereign giver of life."

The glory of God is ultimately revealed on the cross; "The Word became flesh, and died among us; we beheld his glory, glory as of the one who lays down his life for his friends."
"The Word became flesh, and was crowned king in our midst; we beheld his glory, glory as of the human, bleeding figure, the one given by the Father to save the world."

The Word became flesh, and pitched his tent among us; "We beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son of the Father."

On Good Friday, the light was out and darkness covered the world; "The Word became flesh, adn slept among us; we beheld his glory, glory as of the loving God who has finished the work of redemption."

We are to follow Jesus - the ONE - for us he was sent, by the Father, full of grace and truth. As Jesus said to Peter, "You must follow me."
The Holy Spirit lives within us and therefore; "The Word may become flesh once more and dwell among us and within us; and we, having beheld his glory, we must then reveal his glory, glory as of the beloved children of the Father, full of grace and truth."

This is the One whom we follow, full of grace and truth, the Son of God, pointing back to the Father.