Word Made Flesh

I find it interesting and exhilarating when I notice the Holy Spirit at work in my life. Today, I got a re-post of a blog entry from a couple of people on Facebook. With the deluge of Facebook traffic at this time of year, I might not have even noticed, except… both of the posts seemed to credit the piece to different authors. In fact, people were just attributing the piece to those friends who passed it along to them. The copyright cop (or perhaps the Holy Spirit) in me forced me to track down the source, the blog, and the author. In doing so I discovered a Spirit filled, intelligent, and thought provoking blog called Sarcastic Lutheran. Along the way, I read the piece, and found it awesome!

The author, Nadia Bolz-Weber, is the mission developer for House for All Sinners and Saints in Denver, Colorado. They are an urban liturgical community with a progressive yet deeply rooted theological imagination. Her bio states simply: “I’m Nadia.” Her interests include: “coffee, Martin Luther, Nick Drake, tattoos, emerging church, Christian Mystics, My kids.”

With Nadia’s kind permission, here is her blog entry for January 3, 2011:

Word made Flesh - And the Indignity of Having a Human Body

So, just to get it out of the way, I didn’t get what I wanted for Christmas. No, not an ipad or World Peace. Anyone who knows me well knows that what I really wanted for Christmas was a brand new back since mine is wrecked. The disk between my L5 and S1 vertebrae is severely degenerated which means at the age of 41 can’t stand for more than 20 minutes without being in pain. I mention this because in our Gospel reading for today we hear that In the beginning was the Word and The Word was with God and the Word was God And the Word became flesh and lived among us. In short: God decided to have …of all things…a human body.

We Christians have along history of finding this idea disturbing. There was an early Christian heresy called Docetism and I’m not totally convinced that I myself would not have been a docetist given the opportunity. You see, they were so certain that spirit and flesh could not exist as One that they convinced themselves that Jesus didn’t really have a human body…it just seemed that he had a body. Docetists claimed that Jesus only appeared to be a physical being. And I get the impulse behind docetism because really, no self-respecting God would become a human when being human means being irretrievably fragile. What can it mean that God slipped into the vulnerability of skin and was made flesh? Seems a lousy idea in a way, given the very sloppy and broken reality of our physical lives as humans. Our bodies bruise and decay and sag insistently toward the earth so why in the world would God not spare God’s self the indignity of having things like sweat glands and the hiccups?

And besides, having a body is an emotionally complicated thing for us, so why wouldn’t we want a “spirituality” which transcends our broken physical reality. But when we are tempted to think that spirituality equals transcending the physical world of things and bodies we might remember that in Jesus we see that a physical life is a spiritual life…

John’s gospel bears witness to a sensual God. Jesus washed human feet, smelled perfume, and tasted abundant wine. He used spit and dirt to heal a blind man, his gut churned when he looked upon the hungry crowds. Salty tears ran down his face. He smelled the stink of death on Lazarus his friend. Jesus’ very own flesh tore when he was beaten and crucified and when he rose from the dead he told Thomas to touch his wounded side, which was not perfected, but bore the scars of having lived. Then, as one of his final acts on Earth he ate grilled fish on a beach. These experiences of the body are not things to be Spiritually transcended …they are perhaps the very things in which we find Christ.

The Psalmist reminds us that God knit us together in our mother’s womb and that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Of course I see at least 2 barriers to really really believing this. Firstly there is the fact that as a middle aged woman my body seems to be deteriorating right before my eyes. How wonderfully and fearfully made is a body which ages, or grows fat, or develops cancer or no longer produces insulin? The other barrier to believing our bodies are fearfully and wonderfully made is that we are literally bombarded by messages otherwise from every billboard we see or commercial we hear. Convincing you that a) your body is bad and b) your body can be “perfect” if you buy a certain product…and let there be no mistake, this is a billion dollar industry.

Yet I wonder if maybe in the incarnation God has done nothing less than baptized all human flesh. Baptized it, not made it into our version of perfect. Perfection as we picture it and as it relates to human bodies is impossible. And perhaps the striving for an impossible perfection is a profound distraction from the way in which we are children born of God. Because as we know, the perfect is the enemy of the good.

And even God, when finished creating the physical world including the human form called it good. not perfect mind you, but good. so as we on this 2nd day of the year make our resolutions about losing weight or gaining muscle or lowering cholesterol which are all perfectly fine, let us remember that we are born of God and made Children of God and have no business calling what God pronounced good anything but good. Because if the Word became flesh and lived among us ~ then despite our botoxic quest for the illusion of perfection, God's creation is good.

So this week I invite you to take notice every time you see or hear a message about body improvement. Every pill, or exercise machine, or special gym membership, or tanning bed… every liposuction clinic and celebrity endorsed diet plan. All of it. Notice the obsession our culture has with stretching and tanning and increasing and decreasing our flesh into submission to some sort of bizarre ideal. Then in contrast, notice every time this week that you see or hear this: And the Word became flesh and lived among us, in this we have seen God’s glory, full of grace and truth…you have received the power to be Children of God. Through the fullness of God’s Word made flesh you have received grace upon grace.

That is a different message entirely. In other words, our youth-obsessed body-improvement culture in which we find ourselves tells us that we can avoid any appearance of our own mortality through the right combination of elective surgery and Pilates and in the end this is nothing but a simple fear of death itself. But what God tells us in the birth, life, death and resurrection of Christ is that we need not fear our mortality in the first place because it simply is not the final word. Death has no sting when it cannot separate us from the love of God in Christ. So we need not fear it. nor deny it.

So Jesus came and in his almost disturbingly physical existence showed us what God looks like, not in some ethereal alternate spiritual plane but right here in the midst of our physical, embodied earthy reality. Jesus said here’s what being born of God looks like… it looks like not worrying about what we're to eat or drink; like loving the bodies of other people who, like us, will die; like touching human flesh as if it's holy instead of worrying that it's unclean, like breaking bread and drinking wine with all the wrong people.

This Christianity stuff is not a religion of disembodied spirituality at all. This is a religion of Word made flesh, of God revealed in the vulnerability of newborn flesh in a cradle and in heartbreak of broken flesh on a cross. So if God saw fit to wear our native garb should we not bless and care for our own flesh? Should we not have concern for any violation or starvation or trafficking of any human bodies as that which God took on to be with us?

As we enter the New Year full of optimism and resolution let us remember that there is a reality beyond our individual self-improvement. The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we were given grace upon grace to become children of God and perhaps in doing so we are now flesh become Word. Word for a hurt and broken and beautiful world. You as Christ’s body are no longer about the fear or the denial of death but about life and life abundant. You as Christ’s body are becoming flesh made Word, being made into God’s loving intention for the world God created. In the name of Jesus, amen.

If you want more of Nadia, you will find her blog at:

http://sarcasticlutheran.typepad.com/

I love the thought of “You as Christ’s body are becoming flesh made Word, being made into God’s loving intention for the world God created.” What a great thought for the new year!

Your brother in Christ,

Dave

2010 Christmas Card

It’s officially Christmas Eve! I’ve already been handing out my Christmas cards to everybody that I can connect with, and today I’ll try to connect with everyone that comes to celebrate Christmas with us at Messiah. We have 6 services scheduled (3, 4:30, 6, 7:30, 9:30, and 11 pm). If you are in our neighborhood, consider yourself invited. You don’t need to be a member, you don’t need to bring anything, you don’t need anything at all… just come and join us as we give thanks to God for the greatest Christmas gift of all!

I made 500 Christmas cards. Each one is lovingly hand-crafted… each one is a unique and special gift from me. I, of course, create the content of the card… find some photo/art/graphic… rotate, format, position, and proof… to create a master that is copier ready. I load a heavy ream of paper (500 sheets!!!) into the copy machine, and then… pray that all 500 copy perfectly, and without a paper jam. What makes each card unique is that I hand-fold each and every one; no two are alike! It wasn’t until after I had completed my carpal-tunnel syndrome folding task that someone on the church staff informed me that the new copiers can also produce folded copies, too! Next year, your card won’t be quite so unique.

If you didn’t connect with me… probably because you are out of the area… here is this year’s Christmas card from me:

Front:

Putting Up A Really Big Light Display

Inside:

Emmanuel

by David Alan Hoag – December 17, 2010

Did you see it… a couple of weeks ago past;

That bright streaking trail in the sky?

With colors that quite put a rainbow to shame,

And zigzagged impossibly high?

It was on the TV; it was in all the news.

The images… startling and bright,

Were glowing and twisting with shimmering hues,

As sunset dissolved into night.

Though it looked otherworldly, I knew what it was;

It wasn’t invaders from space.

Just a missile and payload splitting the dusk,

From the Vandenberg Air Force base.

That I knew the exhaust from the boosters and fuel

And the cold, shifting winds on high

Made ice-crystal prisms; it didn’t decrease

The beauty I saw in the sky.

At Christmas, there are those who seek hard to explain

The Child and the virginal birth.

Their ‘cause’ and their ‘science’ have little ‘effect’

For God who is “with us” on Earth.

Christ suffered our weakness, and He suffered our pain;

He came so that we may be free.

This Christmas embrace Him, step onto His path,

Meeting God in eternity.

Blessings to you and your family, as you celebrate God’s love at Christmas time.

My prayer is that the peace, love, and joy that come from the salvation through Jesus Christ… be yours at Christmas, and all through the year.

Your brother in Christ,

Dave Hoag

Social Media Christmas

From the Thrive Church in Texas. In this age of Social Media, some very creative person pondered… how would the birth of Jesus be told if it happened today? I found it well done, and quite touching in places. If you are connected with social media, I’m sure it will resonate with you. I love the humanity of a couple coping with the incomprehensible. What about you? What touched you?

Your brother in Christ,
Dave

Standing Beside a Bomb

Don Miller is an author, mentor, and speaker. His book, Blue Like Jazz, spent more than 40 weeks on the New York Times Bestsellers List. Don’s most recent book is called A Million Miles in a Thousand Years and it’s about how the elements of a great story can help us understand the elements of a great life. That book also hit the New York Times Bestsellers List, and inspired corporations to work with Don to improve employee engagement in their corporate vision, and customer understanding of the corporations overall narrative.

Don lives and works in Portland, Oregon and also writes a blog. I’m reprinting one of his recent posts here. Whatever your background or persuasion, you need to read and consider the following very carefully!

Thoughts on Standing Beside a Bomb in a Crowded Square

By Donald Miller

A few nights ago, twelve friends and I attended the lighting of the Portland Christmas tree in Pioneer Square. My friends had all flown in for Thanksgiving, and we decided to join ten-thousand others who walked from all over downtown for the event. What we didn’t know is the spot where we squeezed into the crowd was 25 feet from a van filled with what a young man believed were six, fifty-gallon barrels of explosive material. As you know, the FBI had staged a sting, and as the young man made a call on his cell phone from the train station across town that would detonate the bomb, we were singing Christmas carols well within the blast zone. We didn’t hear about the threat until the following morning, and didn’t even know how close we were to the bomb until I saw a picture in the paper, taken only a few steps from the corner of Pioneer Square where we had been standing.

I’ve not talked about Islam or terrorism on this site at all. But reading about the young man, and hearing the talking heads discuss the threat on the internet has me wondering what we are really up against. Is it Islam? I don’t think it is. I think it’s extremism. And extremism takes many shapes and forms. For instance, the Mosque in Corvalis, Oregon where the young man worshiped was burned by arsonists two days later, but this was not called terrorism, it was called arson. And a middle-aged white man, angry about high taxes gassed up his plane and flew it into an IRS building in Austin, Texas last year, but the news was quick to report that this was was not a terrorist attack. Really? Sure looked like one to me. Why weren’t tons of middle-aged white guys who have small planes and listen to Glenn Beck sent to Cuba for water boarding?

I don’t think our enemy is specifically a religious enemy, though I do believe some religions are false. I think our enemy is extremism, extreme black and white thinking, an extreme belittling of other opinions, an extreme and insecure demonization of others, an extreme desire to control, and to make the mistake of thinking extremism is produced only in the Muslim community is ignorance. Extremism is a fall of man problem, a human problem, not just a religious problem. There are liberal extremists, conservative extremists, Calvinist extremists, humanitarian extremists and so on and so on. Here are a few marks of an extremist. Feel free to add to the list:

1. Extremists think in black-and-white absolutes. This does not mean there are not black and white absolutes, it only means the extremists can not see the world in color, the way the world actually exists. Ideas are either right or wrong, good or bad, and there is no neutral territory. You and I may say murder is wrong but eating broccoli is neutral, but an extremist wants to make a moral statement about broccoli and murder both.

2. People who do not agree with an extremist are perceived as threats. An extremist is very uncomfortable living in a world where people can just get along. Instead, they break people down into those who are for them and against them, with us or against us. Extremists believe people are out to get them and so see the people around them as enemies or allies.

3. Extremists do not admit they are wrong and are unwilling to consider another point of view.

4. Extremists are not passive. Extremists are aggressive. Extremists strike first, often out of ignorance or without understanding what they are striking out against. But they do strike out. They react in extremes.

5. Extremists believe, without question, their view is morally superior. They see themselves as right and strong and their enemies as wrong and weak and worth persecution, belittlement and even acts of violence.

And these are just a few loose characterizations of extremists.

I should also say that extremism is not without it’s causes. Many Muslim extremists are reacting to the outright oppression of their people around the world, or the afore mentioned immorality around us here in the west. But where a normal person may have an objective view of such things, and perhaps choose appropriate channels to affect social change, an extremist wishes to eradicate the other view completely.

I should also add there is plenty of extremism in the evangelical church. Whether it’s burning a Koran, or a pastor standing before his congregation belittling other pastors, we see heavy to light extremism in churches all over America every Sunday. An extremist pastor has made a theological stand that is absolutely right, morally superior, and has very real enemies that must be eradicated. An extremist pastor is dividing up everybody into the with us group and the against us group. Some of this has merit, but be certain this is a manifestation of an extremist personality filtered through a theological grid as justification. Lets not be confused. Jesus had very real enemies, and they ended up killing Him even as He cried out to God asking for their pardon. That is a very different stance than the modern war monger waving a Jesus flag.

People who are drawn to extremism are drawn to its feel of strength, it’s moral absolutes, it’s clear definition of enemies and so forth. Extremism paints a world with bold, straight lines, in which one can step into the role of hero or warrior with ease.

But aren’t there Christian reasons for extremism? Absolutely. Biblical Christian extremism, though, looks very different. Biblical Christian extremism looks like being wrongly imprisoned without fighting it, or being stoned to death, or being crucified, or going hungry bringing food to the starving, or crossing a bridge in Selma, Alabama, or turning water into wine for a tipsy wedding party, or leaving your job to bring Christ to the hurting and so on and so on. Christian extremism is willing to die for people, not demonize them to validate their belittlement and oppression.

So, can we just stop saying we are at war with terrorism and start admitting we are at war with extremism, be it a muslim kid or a middle-aged AM radio junkie? Can we just stop calling some pastors provocative and start calling them extremists? And can we answer extremism the way Christ did, by dying for the ones who know not what they do? That’s the kind of extremism I could get behind.

If you want to look into Don’s blog, you can find it at:

     http://donmilleris.com/

Please… just don’t forget where this blog is. LOL!

Your brother in Christ,

Dave

That Seems Familiar

A friend sent me a collection of quotes from posters, greeting cards, many other sources. You’ve probably heard most of them repeated by a friend, an acquaintance, or a pastor (in a sermon). You might even have seen one on a refrigerator magnet. Though they might be familiar, most of them state a Biblical truth in a simple (and often profound) way. Some of them might even provoke you to delve deeper into God’s Word. It could happen!
 
I hope they inspire and uplift your week.

• Don’t let your worries get the best of you;
  remember, Moses started out as a basket case.
• Some people are kind, polite, and sweet-spirited
  until you try to sit in their pews.
• Many folks want to serve God,
  but only as advisors.
• It is easier to preach ten sermons
  then it is to live one.
• When you get to your wit’s end,
  you’ll find God there.
• Opportunity may knock once,
  but temptation bangs on the door forever.
• God Himself doesn’t propose to judge a man
  until he is dead.
  So why should you?
• Peace starts with a smile.
• Coincidence is when God
  chooses to remain anonymous.
• Don’t put a question mark
  where God put a period.
• God doesn’t call the qualified,
  He qualifies the called.
• God promises a safe landing,
  not a calm passage.
• The Will of God never takes you to where
  the Grace of God will not protect you.
• If God is your co-pilot, swap seats!
• Prayer: Don’t give God instructions,
  just report for duty!
• Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass,
  it’s about learning to dance in the rain.
• You can tell how big a person is
  by what it takes to discourage him.
• The task ahead of us is never as great
  as the power behind us.

Did I include one of your favorites? If you have a favorite and it was not among those I published, post your favorite in a comment. If this brightened your day, pass the link to the blog along to a friend.
 
Your brother in Christ,
 
Dave

 

Give Me Your Eyes

Have you ever stood in a courtroom and found yourself convicted of a crime? It’s an awful feeling when the judge brings the gavel down *BANG* and declares “GUILTY.” Perhaps the closest you’ve come to being convicted is watching a police or courtroom drama on television. Many civil cases involve contract law… where the convicted party failed to live up to a contractual agreement.

Often we Christians think of sin as something to forgive in others. We get so focused on the sliver in our neighbor’s eye, we see right past the log in our own eye. Sin is, by definition, ‘missing the mark.’ When we miss the mark, and when we recognize (and admit) that we missed the mark, we stand convicted!

I’m surprised how often the poetry, rhythms, and artistry of Christian singers and songwriters I hear on the radio will convict me! I heard Brandon Heath performing ‘Give Me Your Eyes’ which he had written with Jason David Ingram, and did it ever convict me!

Yes, it’s through God’s grace that we are saved, but we know when we fall short. When we recognize it… when we admit it… we feel convicted. If we are walking with Jesus, he picks us up, dusts the sin off of us, and invites us to continue our journey forward... a little wiser, perhaps a little better, and hopefully a lot closer to God.

Here is a powerful video of the song. If you are reading this on your Facebook page, you can’t see the video. Maybe if you complain to Facebook, that will change, but for now, you’ll have to follow the link to see it. Happily, the lyrics CAN be included.

Give Me Your Eyes

by Brandon Heath and Jason David Ingram

Looked down from a broken sky
Traced out by the city lights
My world from a mile high
Best seat in the house tonight
Touched down on the cold black tar
Hold on for the sudden stop
Breathe in the familiar shock
Of confusion and chaos
All those people going somewhere
Why have I never cared?

Give me Your eyes for just one second
Give me Your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me Your love for humanity
Give me Your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach?
Give me Your heart for the one's forgotten
Give me Your eyes so I can see
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Step out on a busy street
See a girl and our eyes meet
Does her best to smile at me
To hide what's underneath
There's a man just to her right
Black suit and a bright red tie
Too ashamed to tell his wife
He's out of work, he's buying time
All those people going somewhere
Why have I never cared?

Give me Your eyes for just one second
Give me Your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me Your love for humanity
Give me Your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach?
Give me Your heart for the one's forgotten
Give me Your eyes so I can see
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

I've been there a million times
A couple of million eyes just moving past me by
I swear I never thought that I was wrong
Well, I want a second glance
So give me a second chance
To see the way You see the people all alone

Give me Your eyes for just one second
Give me Your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me Your love for humanity
Give me Your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach?
Give me Your heart for the one's forgotten
Give me Your eyes so I can see

Give me Your eyes for just one second
Give me Your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
That I keep missing
Give me Your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach?
Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me Your eyes so I can see
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

How are you convicted? What have you never cared about? What can you not see? What do you keep missing? What is just beyond your reach? What would be different if… you could see through the eyes of Jesus?

Convicted, I sing the song as a prayer!

Your brother in Christ,

Dave

The Bent Over Woman

As promised, here’s the poem by Pastor Ron Baesler.


THE BENT OVER WOMAN

“Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight.” Luke 13:10

She has been downsized, minimized, trivialized
Once vibrant, vital, she pulsed with quiet energy,
Now weary beyond words, and quiet, so silent;
Her vocal cords like leather shoe laces in unused boots.
She is a bit of feather, caught by a bush in the lee of the house,
No breeze, no move, no lift.

From bedroom to bathroom is a 15 foot marathon.
Slide aching gnarled toes from beneath the sheets,
Swivel gravel grinding hip joints forward and reach
Reach for the rubber handles, rubber grip, don’t slip.
Then edge, slide, and shuffle.

Breakfast becomes a nuisance,
And the Tribune? No news is good news.
Besides, it is 15 feet from the front door to the chair
Where she waits for the day to pass.

The horizon kept inching closer.
The world kept getting smaller,
One day, she drifted out of milky sleep and realized
The world outside was tinier than the world inside.
She was not surprised.


I love Ron’s imagery in his poem! Some days I feel like I’m already there. Hahaha! Old age is something that most of us rarely think of, except as it effects our grandparents… or maybe our parents. Old age, if you live long enough, WILL find you. I doubt any of us is properly prepared.

The oldest people I know who are still active and alert have several things in common. They all have a great positive attitude. They all know God, and have a spirit of thankfulness. They are all active in their community… whether it’s a senior community, an assisted living community, or their church community… they stay active and involved. And, last but not least, they all seem to have servant hearts; they reach out to others… even if they can’t reach very far.

My prayer is that God will grant me the humbleness to accept each diminished capacity as I age, and that he grants me the strength to continue in His witness and His service until the day He calls me home.

Your brother in Christ,

Dave

Galilean Nights

On Sunday, after one of the Services, Pastor Ron let me read a poem he had just recently written. I loved it, and badgered him to send it to me so I could post it on the blog. I was surprised when he sent me two attachments. Since I had already read his poem, I was immediately intrigued by the second attachment. Now, Pastor Ron is a very good writer, but I was blown away by what I read in that second attachment. Consider the implications of what you read in Pastor Ron Baesler’s…

GALILEAN NIGHTS

Hey, Judas, pass me that wineskin, will ya.

Here, catch!

Whoa… man, it’s almost empty.

You’re surprised. Didn’t you see the Zebedee boys when we were eating bread a couple of hours ago?

Yeah, now that you mention it, those sons of thunder were really roarin’! Where are they by the way?

Those two… can’t you hear ‘em? They’re conked out over by those bushes.

Wine’ll do that to you! How about the rest of the guys?

While you were up the hill praying, Peter convinced everybody to go into the town. Claimed he had a cousin who might be up for company.

Yeah, that’s Peter’s gift isn’t it? Knows somebody in every town; he’s just a party waiting to happen. Ah… to be young again!

What do you mean, “young again”? You’re not old.

Big difference between 25 and 30, you know. After 30, I became an official responsible adult. But hey, Judas, why didn’t you go with the gang?

Well, Jesus, I… well… you know… I thought somebody should stay and ah, well… protect you.

Hah, hah. I’ve got the sons of thunder right there in the bushes. Their snoring alone would send a whole legion stampeding in terror!

Ha, you’re right there. …But seriously, Jesus soldiers aren’t the problem. Its hoodlums; out here, people are barely feeding their children, the Romans crush them with taxes, so they’ve got nothing... and nothing to lose. Desperate robbers and thieves….that’s what these damn Romans have turned us into.

Sure, Judas, I suppose you’re right. Guess I should say thank you. But you know I didn’t invite you along to be my body guard.

I… OK… well, you know, Jesus, I’m not sure why you did invite me. I mean, I’m glad you did, sure, but I guess, well… I was hoping I could be more useful.

Useful… hmm… Interesting choice of words, Judas. Useful in what way?

I don’t know… I thought by now we’d have some plan, some strategy that we’d be moving forward on.

How do you know we’re not?

We’re not what?

How do you know we’re not moving forward on some plan?

How could we be? We haven’t set any timetables; we haven’t had any strategy meetings…unless I wasn’t invi--… I mean… OK, so maybe I wasn’t invited… Sorry if I…

Judas, hey… brother… Calm down. You should know by now I’m not a secret meeting kind a guy. With me, ‘What you see is what you get.’

Oh, Jesus, that’s a good one! What I see is a good Jew who dresses poor shabby chic like the rest of us, I see a guy who laughs with the little ones and cries with the lost ones. All of that see, all of that I get. But when you start talkin’ with that up country twang I swear even the birds stop to listen, then, when you start tellin’ your stories-- the Lord of heaven be my witness, power dances and crackles in the air. And don’t even get me started about yesterday and those loaves and fishes… ‘What you see is what you get?’ Yeah right, brother Jesus!

OK, OK, you made your point. But Judas, what if it’s all in the seeing.

Whaddya mean?

Remember yesterday afternoon when we were walking north out of Capernaum and we saw that fox?

Yeaaah…

Remember how it blended in with the rocks and grass? Remember how long it took some of us to see it?

I don’t think Matthew ever did see it.

Right… that fox was there for all of us to see. But none of us would have seen it if Nathanael hadn’t spied it. You know why he saw it?

No.

Because he spent years and years taking care of his dad’s sheep on the pastures south of Bethany. Haven’t you noticed? As we walk along he’s always scanning the hills, letting his eyes roam over rocks and poke into shadows. He’s trained himself to see what most of us would miss. Maybe I AM a “what you see is what you get kind of guy.” The problem is people haven’t trained their eyes to see what’s right in front of them.

Never thought of it that way before…. So you’re sayin’ there really is a plan and I just can’t see it?

Aw Judas, you and your plan. Why is that so important to you? Why can’t you just enjoy the journey? Wake up in the morning and see the swallows stitching the sky together, hear the ewes chewing out their lambs for lagging behind the flock, smell the bread a mother is baking for her family off in some village. Some mornings, Judas, I swear, I try to take in all of the bounty and beauty around me and my soul aches from trying to embrace it all. Can’t you just embrace it, just live it?

Oh, I do enjoy the journey…..I mean I’ve never done anything like this before. Every day… wide open, like an empty scroll and we fill it in as we choose. I mean such freedom, scary sometimes…but, Jesus, how can I not think about a plan… you’re the one who keeps saying “the Kingdom of God is coming.” To me that means changes, big changes… and changes don’t just happen, ‘poof’ like some wizard’s tricks. You need a plan. And as I see it, if God’s kingdom is coming then that means the Roman’s kingdom is going and that’s not going to be easy, so---

Judas, whoa, slow down. You are definitely my impatient brother. And you’re right I have been talking about the kingdom and sure that’s gonna mean changes. Will you see them? Will anyone see them? How do we train our eyes? Come here, sit down on this rock. Now look up and tell me what you see.

Dark sky and stars. Should I be seeing something else?

No, no. that’s what I see too. Stars. I wonder, how many of them are there?

Whoa, too many to count. Only God knows.

You think?

What?

You think God knows how many stars are in heaven?

Well, I… sure. God knows everything.

How do you know that?

I must have learned it in the yeshiva. But, hey, what kind of God would our God be if he didn’t know everything?

Ah Judas! Now that’s a sweet question, a juicy, luscious question. We could sink the teeth of our minds into that one and chew all night long. “What kind of God would our God be if he didn’t know everything?” Well, whaddya think? Maybe he’d be a God waiting for us to surprise him, a God waiting for us to make the next move, or a God waiting to see what we’ll do with the world he’s put into our hands. Ah, brother Judas. What a question. You have made my day. Thank you!

I… you’re welcome, I guess. I don’t know, to me it’s scary to think God gives us that much leeway, that much responsibility. I’m not sure I want it.

Yeah, but what if you already have it? What if that is God’s plan? What if you and I are the ones who will have to shape tomorrow… what if…? Ah Judas… tomorrow, tomorrow. I think before tomorrow comes I need to get some sleep.

Yeah it is late. I suppose Peter and the rest will be back before long, too.

Judas, if you wanna do guard duty, OK… you wanna sleep, that’s OK, too. Just remember, Judas, you are free, you have a choice! Goodnight.

Goodnight Jesus. I think I’ll stay up awhile. Maybe I’ll try to count the stars.

Thank you, Pastor Ron, for reminding me that, in Jesus, I have a choice. In Jesus, I am free!

If you want to pass something positive, uplifting, and perhaps a bit challenging along to your friends, send them a link to this blog page with Pastor Ron’s story. If you don’t know how to do that, ask a 14-year old to help you (and perhaps teach you). LOL!

Your brother in Christ,

Dave

Still Under Attack

Yes, I’m still under the random attacks (link to: Still), and no… I’m not really any better. Since January of 2010, my medical doctor has had so many tests performed on me that I’m beginning to feel like a mad scientist’s experiment gone awry. I’ve had enough blood drawn to satisfy the Twilight denizens, and the only abnormal thing they can point to is that my HDL is really low. So I now dutifully take enormous amounts of Niacin (vitamin B-3) in what seems to be an experimental attempt (“studies have shown promise”) to get my good cholesterol into the normal range. The marvelous side effect of taking Niacin in dosages exceeding 500 mg is something called Flushing; your skin alternately feels burning hot, or crawling with insects. Fun times!

“Will this fix my problem?” I ask.

“Oh, no… but we should fix your HDL,” replies the doctor “and let’s put you on a Pravastatin to make sure we control your bad cholesterol at the same time, because you are just a few points too high.”

Along the way, I’ve seen heart doctors and neurologists. They, in turn, have sent me for x-rays of my neck, echocardiograms of my heart, trans-esophageal echocardiograms for a better view of my heart (hospital procedure… sonar device crammed down your throat; NOT FUN), electrocardiograms of my brain (yes, I DO have one), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of my brain and spine, and a host of other poking and prodding of various other areas of my body.

All of the medical professionals deal with me in a similar concerned and caring manner, but like the neurologist (who is the only one to openly admit it)… they are shooting in the dark at my symptoms… since they have, as yet, to diagnose the problem.

“I’m starting you on 500 mg of Depakote (divalproex sodium) to see if that helps you.”

“Will that fix my problem?”

“It’s an anti-epilepsy drug; very effective.” she said.

“Do I have epilepsy?” I demanded.

“No, but your symptoms might respond to this type of treatment.”

I was trying to find something positive in this situation, so after viewing the MRI of my brain, I asked:

“See any tumors, cancer, or swelling of my brain?”

“Nope, it all looks fine. You have a normal brain.”

“Ha!” I replied, “Now my wife will have to stop calling me ‘Pea Brain’.”

I don’t think doctors appreciate humor much. After that crack, she took a second look at my scans, pronounced that I had a sinus infection that showed up on the MRI, and sent me back to my regular MD. He also looked at the MRI scans, agreed that I have a terrible sinus infection, and began to prescribe an antibiotic that would take care of the infection:

“We’ll need to knock down that infection with a strong antibiotic.”

“Is the sinus infection causing my problems… my attacks?”

“Oh, no,” chuckled the doctor, “but we should fix this before it gets any worse.”

“But my head feels fine. I breathe fine. I don’t even have a sniffle.”

“Some sinus infections are like that,” he said cheerily, “it’s lucky we had the MRI so we could see it. Now let’s see… are you allergic to anything.”

“Yes, I’m allergic to bullets”

“What?!?” he exclaimed, “How can you be allergic to bullets?”

“Every time I’m shot,” I snickered, “I have a really bad reaction!”

Showing not the least bit of appreciation of my humor, and thus validating my premise, he wrote me a prescription for AMOX TR-K CLV 875, and then seemed almost gleeful when he explained that this antibiotic kills all the bacteria in the gut, so I should be sure to take a daily probiotic to keep replacing the little critters. As an aside, he mentioned that I “might” experience some bloating, gas, or severe diarrhea. That turned out to be an understatement!

I could not take the probiotic fast enough. To be honest, it didn’t seem to do anything at all to relieve what was fast becoming a disaster of epic proportions. For days, I seemed to be tied to the toilet seat. If you’ve had a bad case of stomach flu, you have a slight inkling of what I went through. After a while, I just wanted to die!

“Surely, this is how the infirm, the diseased, and the aged might feel.” That was the thought that suddenly shot into my mind as my intestines kept trying to turn themselves inside out. At that same instant, I realized that all my faith had been on medicine, other medicines, and my own strength. I wish I could report that as soon as I turned my heart back toward Jesus that I was instantly made well; I wasn’t. But it was as if I could feel Jesus holding my hand, easing my pain, and reminding me that it would soon pass. Then a miracle occurred: my youngest daughter came by and forced me to take some Imodium tablets. Thirty minutes later, I was greatly relieved (no pun intended).

I was a victim of the cure being worse than the disease! I felt deathly ill for 5 whole days. When you can’t control your bowels, you are angry, irritable, embarrassed, and in pain (for more than one reason). Your only thoughts to God, when you are alone and in pain, are not all that productive… they are probably a lot like mine were. And physical pain is just the tip of the iceberg. The pain of the death of a loved one can be even greater! I bet you know somebody who is in pain right now.

I challenge you to remind them of the Good News of Jesus Christ. I challenge you to sit with them, hold their hand, and pray with them. I challenge you to be an earthly reminder that Jesus wants to walk beside them… to erase their sins, free them from bondage, and to ease their pain.

Your brother in Christ,

Dave

Perfect

And… wait for it… here is yet another video! If you are reading this on Facebook, on email, or on a smart phone, you should really make an effort to view it on Messiah’s site.

‘Perfect’ is a music video from a Canadian group called Simple Plan. This particular song isn’t what you might consider to be Christian worship music… by any stretch of the imagination. At first blush, it doesn’t seem to have much of a draw for “adults”, either. If you are the parent of a teenager, you might find that you have more in common with your angry, rebellious teen than you ever imagined… especially if you read on, and… if you watch the video a few times.

The song and the video do a great job of literally looking in the window of teenagers. They are struggling with changes in their lives. They are wondering about their place in the world; in the universe. They are talented, intelligent, and sensitive, but are often dismissed, or worse yet… invisible. They love intensely, are highly emotional, and feel rejected at the least provocation. What they want is to strive toward what they see as bright possibilities in their future, not be restrained by the impossibility thinking of people living in the past who think of them only as children.

Of course, adults see it differently. Adults see children that resist authority, that don’t have any idea how the real world works, that are idealistic and emotionally charged, and that don’t know how to make the best choices yet. As adults, don’t we have to protect them from the things we know will only end badly for them?

Actually, there isn’t much difference between teenagers and adults. Compare how adults percieve God… “He has all these rules that I just can’t ever live up to… I’m not perfect!” “Why do I have to be accountable for everything? I’m not perfect!” “Why shouldn’t I get angry? I’m not perfect!” As adults, we have just as many excuses for God, as teenagers have excuses for adults.

Yet, there is Good News. Though we are not perfect, we can find the perfection we need in Jesus. In Him, and through Him, and with Him, we are made right and acceptable to God the Father… we are made PERFECT!

Perhaps… just maybe… if you can get your [FILL IN THE BLANK] (teen, parent) to read this blog entry and watch the video… you might be able to open a dialog.

“Come now, and let us reason together”, saith the LORD: “though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”
Isaiah 1:18

Share this with somebody in your life, and let me know what happens.

Your brother in Christ,

Dave