A story to be told, not read

The holidays are richer when stories are shared. Last night I sat with my son and watched the animated classic holiday show about baby new year. Rudolph, Ben Franklin, a caveman, 1023 (a armored knight), and a whale seek to rescue baby new year from the clutches of Eon the vulture. Every Christmas I find myself watching this fictional story, however far fetched it might be. Whether it be frosty the snowman, rudolph, or story of Santa, the stories enrich the experience of people seeking for meaning.

I've never read the Rudolph story in a book. I've never read the story of Santa's workshop in a book. The stories are passed down to me and others verbally and visually. I tried to read a Sesame Street book to Ethan and while an entertaining book, it's impact is lessened because the muppets are pictures on a page, not alive on the screen.

The gospel lesson for tomorrow of the birth of Jesus needs told and lived, not simply read from a book. It is a true story passed down over a period of a couple thousand years, remaining constant and pushing us to embrace God's goodness and grace. It's better told person to person, the way it was originally told before recorded in the gospel. May you be a story-teller this Christmas season and sink yourself deeply into the story of Christ in 2006.

Radical, foolish forgiveness

This morning I read in the Psalms one of the most amazing statements, "When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us, your forgive our transgressions." Psalm 65:3. A few things amaze me about this statement from David.

First. Unconditional. The forgiveness is not preidcated, nor is it preceeded by confession. The "we" weren't focused on God at all, nor motivated to confess sin...they were overwhelmed by sin. They were caught up in transgression. In that moment, God's forgiveness happens. It reminds me of the alcoholic still drinking, or the drug addict still using, or the person doing violence with words...God doesn't wait for us to clean up our words, get sober, or clean before forgiveness is granted. God's disposition toward his people is one of utter compassion, grace, and love to all of us who daily are "overwhelmed" by sin.

This is radical grace. You might say, "But don't they need to confess their sin?" Yes, as a means of healing and a pathway towards a better life. But if we think confession is a doorway we must go through to get to God's forgiveness, we are mistaken. In other words, our confession does not motivate God to forgive us. It is the other way around. God's forgiveness motivates us to confess our sinfulness.

Second. Present tense. The translation is in present tense. David understood that God's forgiveness is a moment to moment deal. It isn't only a past tense sentimental gratefulness, nor is it a future hope. God's forgiveness is here and now. As I write. As you read. God's forgiveness and grace is present now.

Third. Jesus. From the cross Jesus uttered the words, "Father forgive them because they don't know what they are doing." Those who crucified the Lord were overwhelmed by a sin that drove them to murder an innocent man...to push him out of the world because he was getting too close to usurping their power and authority. In that moment, as the Romans and Jews leaders looked on as Jesus' died, God's forgiveness was present for them. Did they know that? Probably not. Jesus was verbalizing the reality of God's heart in that moment. Did they understand the impact of Jesus' words? Who knows. It doesn't really matter. Knowing and acknowledging forgiveness does not make it effective. God's forgiveness effective on its own. God forgives and forgives and forgives whether we like it or not.

Expressing commitment

On Sunday I met with a couple engaged to be married to talk about "love." Basically we learned that love is triangle with 3 sides: passion, intimacy, and commitment. I asked them how people might go about cultivating each in their relationship. What practical things can be done, for example, that would fuel the fires of passion? What could be done to deepen intimacy? What strengthens commitment? The common demonimator for each is communication. Without communication there is no relationship. Two strangers on a bus riding side by side in the same seat don't have a relationship unless they would begin chatting. Relationships begin with communication. What if one stranger put his arm around the other stranger? There would be communication. Or what if the other moved closer to the window trying to get away from the other person? Communication happens without words.

Physical touch communicates a desire to be close and fuels passion.
Words chosen and used well communicate a desire for greater intimacy
Simply speaking face to face with the other expresses commitment. There is no commitment without communication: agruments, complaining, sharing stories, etc. The simple act of communication reveals the heart felt commitment to the relationship. If we or the other person fails to communicate or have no desire to talk to our partner, lover, spouse, significant other, we have to wonder about our commitment to the relationship.

God speaks because he is committed to the creation. Period. He communicates to establish a relationship (intimacy), express love and concern (passion), AND to reveal His ultimate commitment to the creation.

May you hear God's voice today, and share your voice and input with those you love.

Again?

"Again, the Lord spoke to Ahaz..." Isaiah 7:10.

Again. It seems to me that one of the most important words here is "again." The Lord was trying to get Ahaz's attention, but Ahaz wasn't listening. How many times has the Lord tried to get my attention and I've refused to listen or been too busy to do so? Countless. And yet, it is the Lord's undying patience with me and his unfailing love which keeps the Lord coming back. Will God ever give up? How many times did Ahaz refuse to listen...how many times have I refused to listen that the Lord stops speaking. After all, the saying goes, "It's like talking to a brick wall." This has been a fear in my life...that one word would be added to the verse, "never." "Never again [did] the Lord speak to Ahaz..." And yet, I believe in a God who despite humanity's rejection of God, will never reject us.

Again?

"Again, the Lord spoke to Ahaz..." Isaiah 7:10.

Again. It seems to me that one of the most important words here is "again." The Lord was trying to get Ahaz's attention, but Ahaz wasn't listening. How many times has the Lord tried to get my attention and I've refused to listen or been too busy to do so? Countless. And yet, it is the Lord's undying patience with me and his unfailing love which keeps the Lord coming back. Will God ever give up? How many times did Ahaz refuse to listen...how many times have I refused to listen that the Lord stops speaking. After all, the saying goes, "It's like talking to a brick wall." This has been a fear in my life...that one word would be added to the verse, "never." "Never again [did] the Lord speak to Ahaz..." And yet, I believe in a God who despite humanity's rejection of God, will never reject us.

Is it bad to be bored?

I think people in this country need to be a bit more bored. We're "amusing ourselves to death," as one author put it. Yesterday, I combated boredom on a day off by filling my time with noise, the computer, and activity. While I filled my space with "stuff" I felt at the end of the day, meaningful time of thinking and creating wasn't accomplished. It seems to me that enjoyment of life, living a meaningful life, happens when we begin to think and create. In order to think and create, we need conversations with others, yes, but we also need space to think. The best ideas for games come from children who out of their boredom with the day create one. Boredom yields creativity and depth.

Are we afraid of being bored? Are we afraid of the silence? Are we afraid that we're "missing out" on the stuff of life around us? Are we allowing others to create for us...to do the meaningful work of thinking and creating? Boredom is simply another side of being still.

Relax

"If God give such attention to the appearance of wildflowers...don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving."

I love this translation of Jesus' words from Matthew 6. The word that jumped out at me last night when I read it to the middle school students was "relax." Relax. Ahhhh. Take a deep breath. God is in control. I can let go and let God, as some are want to say.

Every day, my son says the same thing when he gets up, "Daddy, go downstairs and get some cereal and some milk." I fill his request gladly. Would I ever not fill his request? Yes. If he were sick, cereal and milk wouldn't be good for him. Any other time I am happy to meet his need for breakfast gladly, even if he didn't ask. I want the best for my son as does my wife.

If I am able to do this for my son, wouldn't make sense that God, whose very nature is grace, mercy, compassion, and righteousness...meet all our needs whether we pray or not? Does God need our prayers? No. Does God desire to hear from us? Yes. After all, relationships are based on communication between two parties. We communicate with God in prayer and God communicates to us. We boldly, confidently, and honestly talk to God, letting ourselves be heard, and letting the peace of God to wash over us.

Relax.