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Game Over

But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of his marriage to Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he had done, Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.   Luke 3:19-20

God Thoughts

Simon Cowell would have been impressed. Whether John’s radical message of repentance was preached to a simple peasant or to a tyranical king, John was, at the very least, an equal-opportunity offender. And while the passage doesn’t tell us if John feared the repercussions of publicly denouncing Herod’s illegal marriage to his brother’s wife, it’s probably safe to assume that a man who called the wilderness desert “home,” and ate bugs as part of his daily diet, wasn’t fearful of very much.

But he had reason to be.

History tells us that Herod Antipas came from a long line of brutal fathers who murdered their wives, sons or anyone who got in the way of their power and ambition.  Jewish in name only, these kings were more allied to Rome than to the God of Abraham. And like Jesus after him, John did not shy away from speaking truth to those who called themselves God’s chosen, especially if they were in authority. 

So what does Herod do? Not surprisingly, he silences his offender. He puts John in prison rather than stop to examine the truth of his words. Then, as now, it is so often easier to silence the truth rather than wrestle with it. 

Question:  

Is God asking me to be a John-the-Baptist and to confess to a fellow believer that I have a concern about something in their life? Or is God showing me that I am more of a Herod, unwilling to listen to a concern someone has about me? And if so, what does He want me to do about it?

Life As I Know It:

Habits. We all have them. I’d like to think most of mine are good but ask my husband and he’ll tell you that my “habit” of accidentally throwing things away while cleaning (like homework assignments or the occasional bill), isn’t one of them.

But trashed calculus papers and ComEd’s invoice aside, some habits aren’t just habits anymore. They’re obsessions. And addictions. And like Herod’s addiction to power that lead to corruption and a willingness to silence those who would dare speak out against it, I’ve been silencing the still small voice that’s told me for a long time that it’s time to kick the habit. Kick the addiction. In effect? Kick out the video games.

That’s right. I have a gaming problem. Or, more to the point, it’s a problem in our family. 

Like any addiction, it started innocently enough. Educational software dangled the promise of early learning and higher IQs. But when numbers, colors and telling time no longer held my children’s interest, we moved on to racing pods with dinosaurs, shooting alien spacecraft and leaping capital T with a single bound in the name of improved hand-eye coordination.

But we knew it was a slippery slope. With children diagnosed with disorders prone to impulsiveness and poor self-control, we were kidding ourselves in thinking we could just limit their habit to weekends only. Over time we gave in to their pleas for more and what became one hour a day, then two, progressed to whatever they wanted as long as homework was done. 

But not any longer. We’ve decided to pull the plug and frankly, it’s scary. It means I will have to dust off the Monopoly, plan to drive them to friends houses and otherwise fill their evenings with something besides Mario. For a socially-challenged suburbanite who is happy living on a quiet street, this will mean engaging my kids in ways I’ve been content to ignore. 

So I’m asking God to give me the strength to get through this. Especially the strength to impart the bad news. Withdrawal can get ugly. But hopefully, with time, our lives will begin to be healthier in ways we’ve long been missing. Time to kick the habit. Game over.

 

Oh, There You Are!

The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.  (Luke 3:15-18)

God Thoughts:

Mankind’s progress may be celebrated (or discredited) by such innovations as the Sham-wow and the advent of the Cheeto but one thing that has not progressed in 2000 years is our tendency to look for a savior in all the wrong places and faces. 

Ancient Jews were looking for their promised Messiah and thought they’d found him in John. Sure, he spoke with firey authority and miraculously survived on a diet of insects while sporting the ultimate in retro-”primitive” fashion, but their vision of God’s Messiah, like ours, was still too small.

It's Not Easy Being Green

“The ax is already at the root of the trees and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” “What should we do then?” the crowd asked. John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher, they asked, “what should we do?” “Don’t collect any more than you are required to do,” he told them. “Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely--be content with your pay.” Luke 3:9-14

God Thoughts: 

We may not be into horticultural metaphors but we get the message. Fruit? Good. Fire? Not so much. Like John’s listeners, we find ourselves asking the same question. What is this “fruit” we’re supposed to produce? What, exactly, are we supposed to do?

John’s answer is simple. Love others. But for most of us, living out that simple message is anything but. In a culture of consumerism in which “the one with the most toys wins”, being content with what we have seems downright un-American. And while cheating on taxes, falsely accusing others or an occasional extortion may not be our modus operandi, we have probably all experienced what it means to get ahead at the expense of another at some time or another. And John’s advice to us all? Cut it out.

Question:

In what way can your life be challenged to love others more? Being more generous? Being more honest? Or being more content? 

Life As I Know It:

We are now a one car family. Yes, like countless other progressive families, we are reducing our carbon footprint, lowering our dependence on fossil fuels and answering that age old question, can a family of five exist with only four tires on a 10-year-old minivan without air conditioning? (The answer to which is, “yes”.)

But while our 11-wide footprint is a now a petite 6, we must confess that like Kermit, it’s not easy being green. Especially when you didn’t mean to be. 

The simple fact is, our other car died. And the other simple fact is that we don’t have the money to replace it. Yet. A fact my daughter brought to my attention the other day when she asked me why I didn’t have a real job. 

And that did it. I wasn’t seeing green. I was seeing red. A real job? Of course I knew what she meant. She meant a job that earns money. You know, the kind that helps pay the bills and sends kids to camp and let’s you feel less guilty about buying organic, pro-biotic, free-range shampoo. 

But it also made me feel so devalued. The jobs I do seem so invisible. The cooking? The gardening? The non-stop driving? The shopping? The laundering? The refereeing of daily teen-wars? Somehow not a real job? I was devastated. 

But what was the alternative? Would standing behind a cash-register suddenly make my job noble? Would doing the 9-to-5 change lives and give me meaning? So why am I doing this job-that-isn’t-a-real-job, anyway? 

Talking to God about it in my usual way, I questioned whether I should be doing more, earning more, not looking to all the world like a “failure”, when he stopped me in my tracks with an answer that suddenly made so much sense. And my anger? My need to justify myself? It went away. I was suddenly content. 

Why am I doing this job? Because many years ago, God made it clear to me that this is what I’m supposed to do. This is what he wants for me and if that pleases him, how could I be happy doing anything else?

My real job is focusing on my family, however imperfectly. It’s loving others. It’s laundry and omelette’s and visits with friends who need a joke over a cup of coffee because they're hurting. It’s being okay with a car that has 157,000 miles and a missing hubcap. So John’s advice to me when I think otherwise? Cut it out. 

Ice Cubes and Charmin

“ ‘Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight the rough ways smooth. And all people will see God’s salvation.’ John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him. ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children of Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Luke 3:5-9) NIV

God Thoughts:

John would have made a poor politician. If his  “wild” sense of style wasn’t enough to make him unelectable, his no-nonsense, straight-shooting tendency of telling it like it is certainly would. Yet people came to him. Why?

For some, it appears, they knew they needed to be right with God. But John knew something they didn’t know; that merely observing a ceremonial “act” is not enough. To repent--to change the direction of one’s life back toward a life that honors and loves God--is more than a one-time event. It is change that, if genuine, will produce evidence of that change over time. Repentance must come from the heart.

John also knew that those so superficial in their approach to spiritual observance were operating their lives on a superficial understanding of God as well. Believing that their cultural and spiritual connection to Abraham was enough to guarantee them God’s favor, they demonstrated their ignorance of God who expects a real relationship from us, not a robotic ritual.

Question: Is there a part of your life with God in which you are going through the motions but your heart is far from Him? Or is there an area of your life that you need to repent of and to surrender again to God?

Life As I Know It:

Years ago at a lunch with co-workers the conversation turned a dark corner. Like something out of a estrogen-induced feeding frenzy, they began to rail against their husbands and boyfriends, listing their pet peeves and unforgiveable sins. Only when “empty ice trays” and “empty toilet paper rolls” climaxed their list did they turn to notice that I had remained speechless.

And the reason? With the exception of upright toilet seats, I was guilty of every crime. I was the enemy.

I began to entertain the possibility for the first time that my husband had grounds for complaint about my “objectionable” behaviors. And while I didn’t need to be baptized to repent of my sins, I did repent, and so began a long and difficult journey in my life to be more considerate of my husband and to see that just because something didn’t matter to me didn’t mean it didn’t matter. 

If you were to ask my husband today if my repentance has borne much fruit over the years my guess is that unfortunately, progress has been painfully slow. Empty ice trays and empty toilet rolls are not yet banished from our less-than-perfect home. But what has changed is my realizing that what this has really been about was never ice cubes or Charmin. 

It’s about love and showing it. What matters to those we love is what should matter to us. My daughter loves gifts. It’s her love language. But it’s my worst love language of all. My husband’s love language is touch and acts of service--probably my next weakest. I may never become fluent in these languages but what God calls me to do is to at least learn them. To make an effort because love compels me. 

Change is slow. I can guarantee that there’s at least one empty ice tray in the freezer even as I write. But not for long.  

The Thoughtful Spot

“In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar--when Pontus Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene--during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: ‘A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’ ” (Luke 3:1-4) NIV

God Thoughts:

Luke may get kudos for fact-citing the where’s, who’s and what’s of his story but to a generation of readers 2000 years later, what difference does it make to us who was caesar, who was governor and who’s brother was tetrach of what city? 

A lot, actually.

Contrary to the idea that faith is blind and should stay that way, faith was designed by God to be grounded in fact. In truth. In the tangible reality of verifiable history. Because when the smallest details of fact are true, it enables us to conclude that the bigger ones are just as credible. From imprinting his existence in creation itself to offering his resurrected nail-marked hands to Thomas, God wants us to know that he is real and can be trusted.

So Luke prepares us by first grounding us in known fact. His contemporaries would have known that the men cited in this passage actually existed but we can know it too thanks to verification by an independent source, an ancient Roman historian named Josephus in his work, “Jewish Antiquities” who mentions them all. And there is physical evidence as well such as the recent discovery of Caiaph’s ossuary. 

In setting the factual scene for us, then, Luke prepares his readers to accept a more difficult reality. Because John the son of Zechariah is the one the ancient prophet Isaiah foretold would come almost 1000 years earlier to prepare the people for their Messiah. And not only is John the fulfillment of ancient prophecy but his message is difficult too.

John is preaching baptism, a ceremonial cleansing ritual that was reserved for the most unclean (the diseased like lepers or those who had touched the dead) to be restored and made acceptable once more to God. The problem is, he is preaching this message to a generation of Jews, the “chosen people” of God, that have become as unclean on the inside as the unclean pariah's they avoid. Only by admitting to their unclean "condition" can they be restored to a relationship with the One they claim to follow. 

Question:

Is there a challenging truth or next-step God is asking you to take that, while grounded in a series of known facts, is hard for you to trust? 

Life As I Know It:

Thoughtful Spots. We all have them. Pooh’s was a quiet place protected from the wind somewhere between Piglet’s house and his own. But me? It’s wherever I walk my dog, Miley, each day. Yesterday my Thoughtful Spot turned out to be the nearby high school athletic field and while navigating my Doodle in and around exercising teenagers or scooping up the “presents” she meant to leave behind, God made me think. And what I thought about was money. More to the point, what I thought about was how I am having trouble trusting him with it.

We submitted paperwork to our mortgage companies to reduce our interest rates yesterday. We don’t know what they’ll conclude although we are praying hard that God will compel them to reduce them significantly. The problem I now realize, however, is what will we do if they give us what we want? Will we trust God enough to use it the way he wants and not just what seems “financially best”? Or more likely, what seems to just be all about us?

Yes, we cheerfully give a portion each month to groups supporting God’s work for those local and around the world. But honestly, it isn’t much. We have said often to ourselves that we want to give more and want to be in a position to be more responsible with what we have. But how do we give? Only when it seems safe? Or regardless of financial “caution” in the expectation that God will provide?

It’s tricky, this trusting business. And I know the facts. Or at least some of them. God has cared for us and demonstrated his provision for our family for the last 20 years of our marriage. I know he will accomplish his will in the world, that everything we have is his anyway, that he loves us more than we love ourselves and that scripture is FULL of words to that effect. And I know that whatever we give he wants it to be with full hearts, not fearful ones.

But I also know that material provision is not a guarantee. I have brothers and sisters around the world who love God with all their hearts, minds and souls and they, like Jesus before them, have no place to lay their heads. 

“So how do I know how to trust you?” I find myself asking him during my Thoughtful Spot moments as I watch another group of teens huff and puff around the gravel track. Maybe a better question is to ask, “How do you want me to respond if you enable us to ease our current financial burden?” Will it hurt? Will it be hard? Or can you just make me joyful so following you won’t be so difficult?

Pooh’s response was  “think, think, think.” I think mine will have to be “pray, pray, pray.”

Snarky (Luke 2:51-52)

“Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And as Jesus grew up, he increased in wisdom and in favor with God and people.” Luke 2:51-52 NIV

God Thoughts:

There is a time and place for most things including the baby-steps of growth that must come before we walk, run and navigate our way through life. Often when we think of Jesus the adult we think of his wisdom, his teaching and his civil disobedience--that thorn-in-the-flesh tendency to break the man-made rules of the Pharisees. Or of antics worthy of modern day shock-jocks as he ate with prostitutes, talked with social pariahs and touched the forbidden. But he wasn’t always that way. 

Jesus, as God, knows the right time and place to accomplish his work and to that end, he began his life as we do, taking the time to “grow” in areas of submission to authority (in this case, his parents) as well as growing in spiritual wisdom and in his relationships, connecting with those around him.  

Question:

How are you growing in obedience to your heavenly Father? In what ways are you seeking to grow in wisdom and in favor with God and with others? 

Life As I Know It:

“Snarky.” It’s a word that just makes me laugh. It just sounds so funny and funnier still when I hear a snarky comment or perhaps even make one myself. Maybe its a generational thing. For most of my adult life I have taken pride in the fact that I and my peers perfected our Boomer-parents’ mistrust of anyone over 30 by simply  mistrusting anyone and everyone. Period. 

The result? Snarkiness. You know, a snappy, defensive retort that informs those around us that we are too smart to believe in happy endings, good intensions and two-for-the-price-of-one sales. Disillusioned by a broken world, however, it has become clear to me that I have let my disappointment turn to resentment, allowing it to break something inside me too.

How can I grow in obedience to my Father when I am too “wise” to believe in goodness and hope? How can I grow in favor with him or others when I am always second-guessing motives and assuming the worst so I won’t be disappointed? When did I confuse being wise as a serpent with biting like one? How do I learn to be wise--realistic  about the world as it is--and gentle? Compassionate?

20 years ago I was compelled to learn a lesson that has served me well. Forgiveness--that long process of giving over to God the hurts that another has inflicted along with the need to  “get back”--was the only way to ensure that my heart could heal. To free it from an anger that would have poisoned me from the inside out. 

Yet here I am, years later, only now realizing that I have swallowed a poisonous pill of another kind. I am angry at the world. I am angry at self-promoting politicians, at another upgrade to figure out (when I just got used to the last one), at sock-mates that refuse to be found and the outrageous price of movie-theater popcorn. 

So what now? Jesus, the child, obeyed his parents. He submitted to their authority even though they were limited humans and no doubt, at times, even flawed. Apparently, he did not use this inequity as an excuse to whine or berate the unfairness of it all. And perhaps that's because his whole mission was to forgive the world, not rail against it. So he focused on his heavenly parent, growing in God’s wisdom, growing in favor with him and others. 

It’s time for me to go back to the beginning. To obey my Father who tells me to forgive. This world is broken. My job is not to be of it, not to be broken by it, but to simply to be in it so that I can love on it and love on those in it a little while I’m here. 

If my last lesson on forgiveness is any indication, this will be a change that will take time to learn. 

But the word “snarky” still makes me laugh.

Missing in Action--Luke 2:39-51

Luke 2:39-51 

Random Thoughts:

Who hasn’t experienced the panic of losing a child or of being a child lost themselves?Ancient families made their pilgrimages in large extended groups of near and not-so-near relations and given the fact that by now Jesus would have had several brothers and sisters (we know he had siblings according to later accounts) it becomes easier to see how Mary and Joseph could have begun their journey home to Nazareth without one of their children. 

Where this story takes a hard right spiritual turn, however, is that this is no ordinary child. The details of the story make this clear. Jesus, now 12 years old, the age of spiritual maturity in Jewish culture, chooses this time and place to make his spiritual knowledge and uncanny wisdom known in the Temple. He is beginning to publicly reveal his identity as God’s son. 

More importantly, it is a full three days before his family thinks to look for him in the temple courts. Three is no arbitrary number; representing divine perfection it is no coincidence that Jesus, “lost” for three days is found not only alive and well but in his father’s house. As if foreshadowing his disappearance for three days in the tomb before resurrecting to reveal his identity as God’s son, Jesus the boy is similarly resurrected. Lost to his family, he is now found and in a place and in circumstances that are demonstrating he is more than anyone can imagine.

More poignant still is the fact that when his parents do finally find him they are dismayed wondering why he was not more considerate of their suffering on his behalf. Like so many of us, wondering why God lets us struggle as we search to know his will, he reminds us (as Jesus did his parents) that he is very much about his Father’s business--even if we can’t see it--and our part in it is so very much a part in it even if we can’t understand it. 

Time is Love--Luke 2:33-38

“There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Pahnuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then had been a widow for eighty-four years. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.” (Luke 2:33-38) NIV

Random Thoughts:

“Time is money” may be a truism of Wall Street but in God’s economy? I think time is love. Although Luke writes just a few sentences about Anna, his readers would have recognized in a way that we might not that her commitment to singleness in order to pray and fast at the temple for the rest of her life is an unconventional life path. 

Forgoing her culture’s expectations and pressure to remarry or to have children who can care for her in her old age, ensuring her future and securing her social status, she chooses to dedicate her life 24/7 to God. In Anna, it seems, we have a bit of a maverick who’s life choice tells us that our time and what we do with it is every bit as valuable a gift to God as giving materially or serving through more conventional means. Time is love. 

Mushy Peas--Luke 2:33-35

“The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his other: ‘This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.’” (Luke 2:33-35) NIV

Random Thoughts:

Good news first? Simeon’s first words to Mary and Joseph (in the previous passage) are full of celebration and joy but he concludes with a warning of tougher times ahead. The good news is quickly followed by the not-so-good; sobering reminders (even frightening ones) of what is to come.

Long-awaited redemption is coming through the Messiah but some will rise to his call and others will stumble over it, refusing it altogether. His presence and claim as God’s Son will force all to choose. Them as well as us. Then as well as now. Will we accept his offer of grace or choose our own way, a way of rules and traditions and sounds-good-to-me-philosophies that cannot ultimately transform us? 

Spirited Away--Luke 2:25-32

“Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of the Israel and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God saying, ‘Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.’” (Luke 2:25-32) NIV

Random Thoughts:

Because of the presence of the Holy Spirit in Simeon's life, he was able to be in the right place at the right time to witness the fulfillment of a promise God had made to him. I am often tempted to think of God’s presence in the form of His spirit as an “it” or a “what” but in actual fact, the Holy Spirit is a “who”. And in this story of Simeon we have the “who” of God’s Spirit directing this man’s life and communicating to him in a remarkable way. Perhaps, in part, because Simeon was a remarkable man.

We are told he was righteous and devout. And that is certainly remarkable but I suspect there were others about whom the same could be said. But what set this man apart such that God would preserve his life to fulfill a promise? One clue might be found in what Simeon was patiently waiting for: Israel’s consolation, the Lord’s Messiah. 

But unlike so many who believed the Messiah’s role was simply to take back their nation from the grasp of Roman rule, Simeon’s heart and mind divined the true purpose of God’s promise. Simeon understood that God’s plan was so much bigger than just restoring Israel’s national pride. God’s vision was global; His gift would be for everyone, everywhere. Jew and Gentile. 

Simeon had insight into God’s ways. How beautiful that God would bless him with the the eyes of the Holy Spirit to recognize in an infant child the Messiah who had come to save the world.

Question:

As Christians, gifted with the presence of the Holy Spirit, we are enabled to better recognize Christ and His work the world. Is there something God’s Spirit is showing you or helping you to see more clearly? 

Journal Response:

In the shower today I had an epiphany. And it’s not the first time. Something about hot water, soapy bubbles and a few moments sans interruption just makes me start thinking about God-stuff or even praying. Today it was about Passover and Easter. I really love Passover--there’s just something that connects to my heart when I think about sharing a  meal that Jesus himself was sharing with his closest friends the night before he offered himself up for me and the rest of humankind. 

And then there’s Good Friday. I love that too, remembering and marveling that my God gave himself as the ultimate sacrifice to forgive us all for all time. So then what is it about Easter that to me seems so anti-climactic? Why is it that the most life-changing event in the history of the universe doesn’t just make me erupt into joyous celebration? Because I think it really should.

And then God directed me toward an answer that began with a question. (Well, either it was God directing me or the mind-altering influence of my aroma therapy scrub. I’m pretty sure it was the former). And the question confronting me was this:

What is Easter really about? 

Is Easter just about a neat Life-Over-Death trick that no one else has ever done? Well, yes, in part. “He is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed!” as we like to chant in unison on Easter morning certainly comes to mind. But what is Easter really about? Because as nifty as the empty tomb is, it doesn’t make me want to sing for joy. Smile, yes. Celebrate like I’ve won the lottery? Not so much.

My thoughts moved to images of Jesus, revealing himself to his friends, eating with them, touching them and assuring them that He was real. Really real. And then those images of Easter struck a chord. Something in my grinch-like, hardened heart seemed to soften. What is Easter really about? And I knew.

Heaven.

Easter celebrates the fact that we can know, beyond any doubt, that there is life after death. That there is a Heaven and what is waiting for us isn’t just a nondescript, disembodied lighter-than-air eternity of harp-strumming jam sessions. It’s real just as He is real. And we will be real too, complete with eyes to see and ears to hear and hands that can touch and hug and feel. Easter is God’s proof--his assurance--that Life in the fullest sense of every sense is what awaits each and every one of us who takes hold of Jesus’ invitation to join him. Oh what a wonderful thought! What a wonderful, wonderful thought! 

Something tells me that I’m going to love Easter Sunday this year. 

The Foodie Code--Luke 2:21-24

“On the eighth day when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived. When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, ‘Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord’), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: ‘a pair of doves or two young pigeons’.”  Luke 2:21-24 NIV

Random Thoughts:

Dan Brown’s book “The DaVinci Code” with its thrilling mystery-behind-the-numbers message (albeit a wrong message) had one thing right. Taking a cue from God’s own best seller, biblical scripture, Brown was right to suggest that there is meaning behind names, behind numbers and rituals. But unlike Brown’s tale of intrigue, meant to reveal a "secret" that is best kept that way by an elite, privileged few, the message behind God’s numbers, names and ceremonies are meant to point to a universal truth. A shared truth meant to be celebrated by all who hear it. 

From circumcision (signifying a life obligated to observe the Law), to the 40 days of purification (40 symbolizing a fulfillment of God’s promises), to first-born consecration (recognizing God’s claim on their spiritual priestly service as in the order of Levi), this child, Jesus, is capable of doing what no other before or since can do. In perfect observance of the Law, he will fulfill God’s promise of redemption and will become the highest of priests to save us because we cannot save ourselves. In fact, the message behind all of God’s “codes” is contained within his very name, chosen before his birth. Jesus means, “God is my salvation.” 

What is so amazing to me as I read passages like this is how God has been weaving together His message from the very beginning of our human story with elements that often seem like meaningless-must-dos or insignificant details. (There’s a reason that the book of Laws, Leviticus and Deuteronomy, are not on the New York Times best seller list.) But it is those very must-dos and details that when put together at the right time in the right place point their collective neon message straight to God’s greatest work: Jesus come to rescue us.

But whether we are knowledgeable ancient Jews or ignorant current-day gentiles, God’s message is simple and it is a message He wants us all--not just a select few--to understand. “God is our salvation”. We see it on a cross. We see it in His name. It is a code meant to be broken and understood by all.

I Came, I Saw, I Made Brownies --Luke 2:16-20

“So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” (Luke 2:16-20) NIV

Random Thoughts:

For those of us who don’t speak Latin (a show of hands would include me), “veni, vidi, vici” are the still-famous words penned by Julius Caesar boasting of a swift military victory meaning “I came, I saw, I conquered”. And while God’s shepherd-messengers were certainly not involved in military maneuvers, I think their swift response to go, to see the messiah-child and then to report the good news, essentially “conquering” the hearts and igniting the hopes of the people around them, might have been a victory of a greater kind. A victory that begins with simple obedience to God’s word.

Hearing the good news of the messiah’s birth, the shepherds’ response to God’s word was so immediate! When others were previously told of the messiah’s coming, there was at least some debate--some questions--but we are not given any indication that these men scratched their heads or paused to ruminate the whys and hows. Elated by what they have been told, they hurry to find the child, they see the truth for themselves and then they spread the word, their good news amazing all who hear it.  

Question:

Is God revealing truths to you that require your immediate response? What keeps you from acting promptly when God nudges you?

Journal Response:

I wish I could be like the shepherds. If there is one thing I am not, it is swift when it comes to obedience. Of course God knows our natures and seems to wait patiently while those of us with “issues” explain why we can’t do this or delay our response wanting to know why. My kids are like that too. Serves me right. But God's patience doesn't last forever; there comes a point where we have to do a Nike and "just do it". 

Today Pastor Brian’s sermon challenged me to think about areas where I am weak and to do something about it. To just do it.  Am I in a group where I can be supported in prayer, share who I really am and not be boo-ed out of existence? Check. Am I in communication with God each day through reading scripture and spending some time talking with him in prayer? Mostly. Yup. How about influence? How is the shepherd-response in my life going? Do I take what God is telling me and pass it on? 

I want to check that off my To Do list but I hesitate. Yes, I am writing this blog. But I am a total wimp when it comes to talking about God in my life with real flesh and blood, breathing, human beings. Why? The same weakness shows in the area of service--actual hands-on acts of love that demonstrate in a tangible way that somebody cares because God does. Why?

What is it about tangible, human connection that makes me pause? I’d like to blame my genetic code. Could be pretty convincing. Or how about my fear of failure? That always stops me cold. Or maybe the "why" just doesn’t matter. Even if I know the answer, will it change the response? The point is, what am I going to do about it?

One of my neighbors died this week. John was a quiet old man living alone on our street until the last few years he was in a nursing home. Hard of hearing, unable to drive, he nevertheless made a unique contribution to our neighborhood. Every week, no matter the weather, he dutifully rose before most of us, dragged out our garbage cans to the curbs and then put them back again when the sanitation trucks had done their part. Every week, like clockwork. Whether we saw him or not, we knew John was there, still making his contribution to our little corner of the world.

This Tuesday, I thought of John as I dragged my empty cans back to my garage, shivering in the single-digit cold. And then just yesterday, I learned that he died this week at age 94. There will be no funeral. No memorial. And I wondered about his soul. Where is he now?

God prompted me a few years ago to spend time with John. To take him brownies (he loved chocolate), to let him talk about his wife and to invite him to come to church with us if he ever wanted a ride. He never took up our invitation but I left him with information, cable channel schedules to watch our church services if ever he felt so inclined. 

I don’t know where John is today. I know God never gives up and perhaps John continued to receive God’s message through others he met at the home where he moved. But hearing about John's passing was a reminder to me to not let my fear of failure or my DNA--or whatever it is that gives me pause--keep me from connecting with real, live people. So God's message to me? I think it's time to make more brownies.

A God After Our Own Heart

Okay, “Uncle”. I said it. Happy? The fact is, being an A- personality, I may really really want to press on toward to the goal of completing Luke in a year but am just impulsive enough to detour when God gets my attention with something else. Today is a “something else” day. It’s Psalms 26. 

Frankly, when I read it this morning, I did one of my classic eye-rolls toward heaven and said, “Are you serious?”, because at first glance, David’s words seem too egotistical even for the typical confident-male. He’s led a blameless life? He’s never faltered? He’s always been mindful? Or how about washing his hands in innocence. That’s a good one. What am I supposed to do with this? This is David, after all. You know, the guy who’s spiritual blind side got him involved with another man’s wife that led to murder. And we know, being human, that that was only one flaw in the man’s life. No one is perfect.

But then I read it again. (This is especially helpful if you haven’t had your caffeine in the morning.) And each time I read it I saw the emphasis beginning to change. This psalm was less an expression of David’s delusions of grandeur and more of a love letter to God. 

In verse one he demands vindication. About what? Himself? At first reading, maybe. There’s a lot of “I” statements, after all. “I have trusted, I have always, I have led...” But what is the object of his “I” statements? What is it David is right to be vindicated about? God’s character. A life spent praising a god in whom he can trust, a god of unfailing love and faithfulness rather than a life of bribes, blood and evil is a life worth living because a god like that is worth praising and living for.

And while at first sounding holier-than-thou critical of the hypocrites, evildoers and the wicked, it turns out that David isn’t actually comparing his righteousness with others. He is juxtaposing lives lived without God to a life rescued by God. This isn’t about his righteousness. It’s about celebrating God’s forgiveness of those who need it. Like him. David washes his hands in the innocence God offers on the altar of sacrifice. In the act of receiving forgiveness, David praises God for all the wonderful things He has done.

This wasn’t about David. At least not at its heart. This is about God. And then in verse 8 and 9, David tells us why. “Lord, I love the house where you live, the place where your glory dwells. Do not take away my soul...” David adores God. He loves God’s presence. He really does live for him in every way he can and the worst thing he can imagine is losing him in death for all eternity. He pleads for God’s mercy and redemptive love, recognizing that he is in need of both. 

This isn’t about tooting his own horn; this is about loving someone so much you don’t want to say goodbye. There is a reason David was called a man after God’s own heart. 

Even more wonderful is realizing that God is after our hearts too. In sacrificing His own son on the altar of a cross 2,000 years ago, we can also have a life transformed by forgiveness, by  innocence. Like David, when we put our trust in God's sacrifice, Jesus, He transfers His innocence to us. And our lives are changed in the here and now and for the next to come. 

A man after God’s own heart. And a God after ours. That's worth celebrating.

Red Letter Day Luke 2:12-15

“This will be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.’ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’” (Luke 2:12-15) NIV

Random Thoughts:

God wants to be found. And most of the time, we want to find Him. Trouble is, finding God often means setting aside our preconceived notions of what that will look like. Imagine being told we will find God in the squalid conditions of a dirty animal stall? Would we see Him?  Or imagine that God entrusts his most precious message for humanity to an illiterate, impoverished band of sheep herders? Would we hear it?

For those of us raised in the church I think we expect--and with good intentions--hope to first discover God within the walls of our place of worship whether it’s during an evangelical program or during catechism when we turn 12. Some even schedule the dates and times of  “revival” on calendars, programming the arrival and work of the Holy Spirit himself.

For some of us, God will meet us for the first time in those places and during those moments. But I think for many of us God finds us when we least expect it and He reveals Himself in a way that takes us by surprise. 

When God finds us on His terms it reminds us that He is not a God we make in our own image who conforms to our limited notions of who He is and how He works. We often want to “civilize” our God, to make Him manageable, predictable and safe. But He is none of those. He comes to us when our own ways and means aren’t working; He asks us to rethink our spiritually grand expectations to accept His humility; and He asks us to embrace all His messengers both the heavenly and the most down-to-earth.