Yesterday we had a baptismal service for Owen David. What was "fun" was that as soon as we were done with pouring the water "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen." Owen wanted to play in the water. Splash it with his hands. Dance in it with his feet. Get wet and have fun.
Somehow, "playing in Baptismal waters" could be an image for all the baptized. Would that we would so delight in God and the gift of grace that we'd get all wet with God's abundance, God's love, God's mercy. Would that we would be so attached to our Baptism and our Baptismal family that we'd find no more delight than playing, dancing and splashing with God and God's people. Would that our baptismal identity would have us getting all wet, moment by moment, for our mission and ministry.
Someone said that baptized people are "walking wet" - connected to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Romans 6:1-6) - living in the wash cycle of conviction, confession, forgiveness and submission to the Spirit. "Walking wet" (aware of our Baptism) in every relationship, every business dealing, every choice, every decision, every ministry and in every other aspect of our lives. "Walking wet" is a wonderful image for our lives of Baptized faith.
And I rather think God delights when we find those kinds of ways to play in God's Baptismal power and grace!!
Friday, December 31, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Gifts and Priorities:
I just read that in the United States $450 billion was spent on 2010 Christmas gifts for children.
That was compared to the suggestion that a mere $10 billion could establish clean drinking water for all of the children and adults in the Western Hemisphere.
That gives me some food for thought.
That was compared to the suggestion that a mere $10 billion could establish clean drinking water for all of the children and adults in the Western Hemisphere.
That gives me some food for thought.
Monday, December 27, 2010
“Expecting Jesus”:
It should not surprise us,
but it often does
He comes to us in
the unexpected moment.
He, Our Lord, that is,
is not one who is
particularly discriminating
about where and how he chooses
to make himself known.
Who would think, for example,
that he would show up in
a straw filled manger in a stable?
Or that He would choose to be
hung up on the cross,
and there reveal Himself as Lord?
Or that He would choose to come
into view
beside a stream;
or at the bed of a sick man;
or in the home of a dying child;
or at the wedding feast;
or in the moment of a meal;
or even, perhaps,
in the middle of worship?
These are certainly unexpected moments
for our Lord to appear.
Unexpected for He appears where we
least expect Him –
or, humanly speaking,
it seems we should!!
In Sunday School we heard it
should be true.
That Jesus, Our Lord, came down to
love kids like me and you.
But we seem to have forgotten that He
doesn’t always choose,
the moments of convenience
like we would often do.
Rather He chooses the unexpected
the unique,
the times that He seems
furthest away.
The moments of sorrow,
the moments of joy.
The times we need Him most
to show His face
to offer grace,
to be there for us to depend upon.
He is here, in any event.
In times of need,
We should expect it.
For He has promised it.
In the unexpected moment.
He does really appear.
And is never is He very far away
from any of us!!
During these Twelve Days of Christmas,
and throughout the New Year,
I’m praying,
He will appear a time or two
or three or three hundred
in an unexpected moment.
but it often does
He comes to us in
the unexpected moment.
He, Our Lord, that is,
is not one who is
particularly discriminating
about where and how he chooses
to make himself known.
Who would think, for example,
that he would show up in
a straw filled manger in a stable?
Or that He would choose to be
hung up on the cross,
and there reveal Himself as Lord?
Or that He would choose to come
into view
beside a stream;
or at the bed of a sick man;
or in the home of a dying child;
or at the wedding feast;
or in the moment of a meal;
or even, perhaps,
in the middle of worship?
These are certainly unexpected moments
for our Lord to appear.
Unexpected for He appears where we
least expect Him –
or, humanly speaking,
it seems we should!!
In Sunday School we heard it
should be true.
That Jesus, Our Lord, came down to
love kids like me and you.
But we seem to have forgotten that He
doesn’t always choose,
the moments of convenience
like we would often do.
Rather He chooses the unexpected
the unique,
the times that He seems
furthest away.
The moments of sorrow,
the moments of joy.
The times we need Him most
to show His face
to offer grace,
to be there for us to depend upon.
He is here, in any event.
In times of need,
We should expect it.
For He has promised it.
In the unexpected moment.
He does really appear.
And is never is He very far away
from any of us!!
During these Twelve Days of Christmas,
and throughout the New Year,
I’m praying,
He will appear a time or two
or three or three hundred
in an unexpected moment.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
January 2011 Sketchings:
“EPIPHANY APPEARING!”
Hidden in the days after Christmas and before the New Year gets traction is a date to which almost no one pays much, if any, attention.
Sometime, somebody picked January 6 to be the “Day of Epiphany”, the date when the wise men, sages from the East, supposedly showed up at the “house where Jesus was.” January 6 also marks the date when those 12 Days of Christmas are over.
This twelfth day of Christmas almost always falls on a weekday, so it gets largely ignored in the bigger scheme of worship. That’s why we often miss reading the story, singing “We Three Kings of Orient Are” and generally getting the meaning of this part of Jesus’ birth saga.
Epiphany (which means “appearing” or “manifesting”) is the day and a time when we mark the arrival of those “wise” guys (we say three, but the Bible really doesn’t tell us) from the east finally showed up with their gifts. They were late, you see. They came with only a few facts and not even enough information to know their ultimate destination. They came depending on a miracle of science (the star) that no one understands or can adequately explain. After their initial excitement they ended up asking directions from a King, trying to work within the existing political system.
When they found Jesus they had gifts. Gold, frankincense and myrrh. Impractical things, really. Costly stuff that foretells death, strange gifts to leave with a tired young mother and a frazzled surrogate father who are trying to make sense out of life without any comforts of their own home.
Having deposited these dangerous, ominous, beautiful gifts they slip away. They leave by a different route than the one they came by having figured out (by God’s grace) that the political powers aren’t happy about the possibility of another “king.” Apparently they make it home safe. The Bible doesn’t tell us. (You can read the whole story in Matthew 2.)
It seems that the whole purpose of the wise men’s coming is to add to the truth of Jesus’ birth and arrival in this world. To give testimony, even as un-named foreigners, that “This is God.” To “reveal” and “declare” that Jesus is the Son of God. It didn’t matter that they were late. It didn’t matter that the gifts were so unusual. It didn’t matter what the political climate might have been. It didn’t matter that they didn’t have all the facts. It didn’t matter that they didn’t linger long there. It didn’t matter that they would be among the first (the shepherds preceded them) of a long line of odd characters who would enter and pass through this newborn’s life.
Sometimes it feels these visitors from the east are very much like us. For, you see, we too often come wandering by to meet Jesus, late, with some enthusiasm, but few facts, little understanding, trying to figure out our journey but all the while thinking, “This is God!” “This is the Son of God!” “This is my Immanuel.”
That’s what makes “epiphany” – when we glimpse God. When we recognize the coming of God in our midst.
That makes every day a potential day of Epiphany – of coming to a more powerful understanding of God’s presence with us.
With that in mind, it might be just as well that January 6 is hidden somewhere at the end of the “12 Days of Christmas” or caught in broken New Year’s resolutions. It might be just as well that we don’t linger on this odd festival like we do Christmas and Easter.
It might be just as well because it opens up the possibility, hopefully the reality, of every day being a time for God to become real, for God to work miracles and for us to say, “This is God, Immanuel, ‘God with us.’”
T.O.M.
Hidden in the days after Christmas and before the New Year gets traction is a date to which almost no one pays much, if any, attention.
Sometime, somebody picked January 6 to be the “Day of Epiphany”, the date when the wise men, sages from the East, supposedly showed up at the “house where Jesus was.” January 6 also marks the date when those 12 Days of Christmas are over.
This twelfth day of Christmas almost always falls on a weekday, so it gets largely ignored in the bigger scheme of worship. That’s why we often miss reading the story, singing “We Three Kings of Orient Are” and generally getting the meaning of this part of Jesus’ birth saga.
Epiphany (which means “appearing” or “manifesting”) is the day and a time when we mark the arrival of those “wise” guys (we say three, but the Bible really doesn’t tell us) from the east finally showed up with their gifts. They were late, you see. They came with only a few facts and not even enough information to know their ultimate destination. They came depending on a miracle of science (the star) that no one understands or can adequately explain. After their initial excitement they ended up asking directions from a King, trying to work within the existing political system.
When they found Jesus they had gifts. Gold, frankincense and myrrh. Impractical things, really. Costly stuff that foretells death, strange gifts to leave with a tired young mother and a frazzled surrogate father who are trying to make sense out of life without any comforts of their own home.
Having deposited these dangerous, ominous, beautiful gifts they slip away. They leave by a different route than the one they came by having figured out (by God’s grace) that the political powers aren’t happy about the possibility of another “king.” Apparently they make it home safe. The Bible doesn’t tell us. (You can read the whole story in Matthew 2.)
It seems that the whole purpose of the wise men’s coming is to add to the truth of Jesus’ birth and arrival in this world. To give testimony, even as un-named foreigners, that “This is God.” To “reveal” and “declare” that Jesus is the Son of God. It didn’t matter that they were late. It didn’t matter that the gifts were so unusual. It didn’t matter what the political climate might have been. It didn’t matter that they didn’t have all the facts. It didn’t matter that they didn’t linger long there. It didn’t matter that they would be among the first (the shepherds preceded them) of a long line of odd characters who would enter and pass through this newborn’s life.
Sometimes it feels these visitors from the east are very much like us. For, you see, we too often come wandering by to meet Jesus, late, with some enthusiasm, but few facts, little understanding, trying to figure out our journey but all the while thinking, “This is God!” “This is the Son of God!” “This is my Immanuel.”
That’s what makes “epiphany” – when we glimpse God. When we recognize the coming of God in our midst.
That makes every day a potential day of Epiphany – of coming to a more powerful understanding of God’s presence with us.
With that in mind, it might be just as well that January 6 is hidden somewhere at the end of the “12 Days of Christmas” or caught in broken New Year’s resolutions. It might be just as well that we don’t linger on this odd festival like we do Christmas and Easter.
It might be just as well because it opens up the possibility, hopefully the reality, of every day being a time for God to become real, for God to work miracles and for us to say, “This is God, Immanuel, ‘God with us.’”
T.O.M.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
"Christmas Spoken Here":
In the book, Christmas Spoken Here (Broadman Press) John Killinger wrote: “One day I was staring through the window of a beautiful little Christmas shop. It was packed with Christmas items, even though Christmas was still six months away. There were exquisite crèches from Italy, Germany and Norway. There were ... jolly old Santa Clauses ... nutcrackers ... angels and wise men and drummer boys stars and snowmen and gingerbread cutouts. The little shop was fairly bursting with Christmas, and a loudspeaker broadcast a medley of Yuletide tunes. It was infectious, even in the summer time. Down in the corner of the front door, where no one could miss it, was the neatest touch of all. It was a small sign that said, ‘Christmas Spoken Here.’”
What a great slogan for believers. A great slogan, not just for Christmas, but also for every time of the year. How could we say any clearer why we believe and follow Jesus? How could we state any more concisely the core of our faith? God has entered human history to change the course of life forever. God has come to dwell with us and to walk with us, so that we can walk with him.
Christmas has to be spoken here, for it is the basis of all that we are, all we do, why we live.
As people of faith, as Jesus followers, we always speak Christmas. We speak it as we live out a love that is for the un-loved, a peace that is for the hopeless, a power beyond all earthly powers, a grace and forgiveness we cannot earn, but only accept and receive. We live out God full grace and truth and peace and hope, that has become one of us in Jesus.
In faith, Christmas is always spoken here.
What a great slogan for believers. A great slogan, not just for Christmas, but also for every time of the year. How could we say any clearer why we believe and follow Jesus? How could we state any more concisely the core of our faith? God has entered human history to change the course of life forever. God has come to dwell with us and to walk with us, so that we can walk with him.
Christmas has to be spoken here, for it is the basis of all that we are, all we do, why we live.
As people of faith, as Jesus followers, we always speak Christmas. We speak it as we live out a love that is for the un-loved, a peace that is for the hopeless, a power beyond all earthly powers, a grace and forgiveness we cannot earn, but only accept and receive. We live out God full grace and truth and peace and hope, that has become one of us in Jesus.
In faith, Christmas is always spoken here.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Jesus is the Center!
A number of years ago I was leading a Children’s Message on Christmas Eve. I had a box that contained several items related to Christmas. There were Christmas cards, decorations, music, candy, cookies—just about anything I could get my hands on that had to do with the season. As I was unloading the box, saying something about each items and what was special about it for me, I heard a little voice from somewhere in the room quite loudly ask, “But, where is Jesus?”
This little one understood something quite profound. This little one understood that Jesus is the center of Christmas.
You know that Christmas, as a cultural event, places us at the center. It pushes our me/my buttons. It stimulates our wants and desires (over our needs). It lures us into the false promise, “If I were just to get the right gift at Christmas everything would be alright and all my problems would be solved.” It tempts us to believe that we are in charge of our lives.
While all of this is fun, the truth is Jesus is the center, not just of Christmas but, most importantly, of life. Think about the ways that Jesus is announced in the scriptures. “In the fullness of time...” has to do with in the center of time, at the right time. “Immanuel, ‘God with us’” has to do with Jesus dwelling right in the middle of us, individually and corporately. “Light” always is always the center of darkness.
All this is to say that Jesus is the center of all life: the center of our right relationship with God, the Center of the presence of the Holy Spirit, the center of the Bible, the center of all faith active in life.
Jesus is the center of the salvation story, the center of worship the center of prayer and devotion, the center of our ability to live with love and to offer love and forgiveness to others. Jesus is the center of life everlasting and the center of our hopes and dreams for this world.
Jesus is the center of my joy at the sunrise and the awe in the face of the setting sun. Jesus is the center of my confidence of safety and rest in the night and meaningful relationships and ministry during the day. Jesus is the center of my confidence in leaving the house in the morning and the wonder of a welcome home in the evening. Jesus is in the center of friendships, marriages and ministries. Jesus is the center of love, faith hope, forgiveness, generosity and grace.
You see, the center of anything that I can name is Jesus.
Sometimes these days it is so very easy to miss all of this amid the hype, the boxes filled with “Christmas” stuff. Even the reminder to “keep Christ in Christmas” can lure us into (perhaps falsely) believing that we are putting Jesus at the center.
Every year about this time, that little voice from the past echoes in my mind, “Where is Jesus?” And I take a moment to reflect, recalabrate, reset, restart and refocus.
The center? Jesus.
Jesus and no one, no thing, else ....
This little one understood something quite profound. This little one understood that Jesus is the center of Christmas.
You know that Christmas, as a cultural event, places us at the center. It pushes our me/my buttons. It stimulates our wants and desires (over our needs). It lures us into the false promise, “If I were just to get the right gift at Christmas everything would be alright and all my problems would be solved.” It tempts us to believe that we are in charge of our lives.
While all of this is fun, the truth is Jesus is the center, not just of Christmas but, most importantly, of life. Think about the ways that Jesus is announced in the scriptures. “In the fullness of time...” has to do with in the center of time, at the right time. “Immanuel, ‘God with us’” has to do with Jesus dwelling right in the middle of us, individually and corporately. “Light” always is always the center of darkness.
All this is to say that Jesus is the center of all life: the center of our right relationship with God, the Center of the presence of the Holy Spirit, the center of the Bible, the center of all faith active in life.
Jesus is the center of the salvation story, the center of worship the center of prayer and devotion, the center of our ability to live with love and to offer love and forgiveness to others. Jesus is the center of life everlasting and the center of our hopes and dreams for this world.
Jesus is the center of my joy at the sunrise and the awe in the face of the setting sun. Jesus is the center of my confidence of safety and rest in the night and meaningful relationships and ministry during the day. Jesus is the center of my confidence in leaving the house in the morning and the wonder of a welcome home in the evening. Jesus is in the center of friendships, marriages and ministries. Jesus is the center of love, faith hope, forgiveness, generosity and grace.
You see, the center of anything that I can name is Jesus.
Sometimes these days it is so very easy to miss all of this amid the hype, the boxes filled with “Christmas” stuff. Even the reminder to “keep Christ in Christmas” can lure us into (perhaps falsely) believing that we are putting Jesus at the center.
Every year about this time, that little voice from the past echoes in my mind, “Where is Jesus?” And I take a moment to reflect, recalabrate, reset, restart and refocus.
The center? Jesus.
Jesus and no one, no thing, else ....
Monday, December 6, 2010
The God of Small Things
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but it seems that we live in a culture that is caught up in the super-sized and the superlatives. It seems we see it all over the place – in our language, in our view of the world and in the way we think about things.
The other day I heard about a man who was lamenting that he has been the same size, with no weight gain, for 39 years. But today he has to buy “extra-large” when there was a time he could buy “medium.”
In the burger joint, I’m asked if I want to “super-size” my order and I find myself tempted to purchase a super-size drinks at the C-store when a more average size would serve just as well.
At Starbuck’s, a small coffee is called “tall”, a medium is a “grande” (even though “grande” means large in both Spanish and Italian) and a large is a “venti” which means supreme.
I’ve also noticed a growing trend for people to respond to a question with “absolutely” when “yes” would worked just fine or with “fabulous” when something more modest like “fine” would have worked just as well.
You see, we are a superlative people in a very large world. Even though technology has allowed the world to “shrink” in many ways, the world is just as big and confusing and complex as it always was.
The world’s story is a superlative story. It is a story of “bling-bling” and glitz and flash and dazzle. It is a story of super-sized, double XX, “big-gulp” and “venti”. It’s a world of fabulous and absolutely. You know what I mean.
And then there is God’s story. God’s story is a story of small things. God’s story is about little miracles in out-of-the way places. God’s story is about mustard seed faith and new life out of old dead stumps. God’s story is about newborns placed in the hands of old people and boy’s slaying goliaths. God’s story is about a God who comes to us in whispers and words carried on the breath of life.
God’s story, the Christmas story, is a story of God becoming one of us, God becoming a human baby, birthed to a poor family in a backwater town. It is the story of God coming with a whisper of a baby.
This should not deceive us, though. This small God is the only God big enough to claim, love, redeem save and transform our lives and the world around us.
Yesterday, I was glancing through some pictures and came across this one
. Of course, it is Owen, as an infant, grasping his father’s nose. But when I saw it, that’s not what I saw.
In the imagination of my spirit I saw an image of God as a baby, in human flesh, reaching out with love to touch the heart of a world longing to be loved. I saw an image of God touching me. And my heart smiled!
So, during these Advent days, as you wade through the glitz and the glitter, the busyness and the clutter, I pray that somewhere in there, you’ll hear the small voice of the infant Jesus who came to love you and I pray that somehow, you’ll feel the infant Jesus’ redemptive and loving touch.
The other day I heard about a man who was lamenting that he has been the same size, with no weight gain, for 39 years. But today he has to buy “extra-large” when there was a time he could buy “medium.”
In the burger joint, I’m asked if I want to “super-size” my order and I find myself tempted to purchase a super-size drinks at the C-store when a more average size would serve just as well.
At Starbuck’s, a small coffee is called “tall”, a medium is a “grande” (even though “grande” means large in both Spanish and Italian) and a large is a “venti” which means supreme.
I’ve also noticed a growing trend for people to respond to a question with “absolutely” when “yes” would worked just fine or with “fabulous” when something more modest like “fine” would have worked just as well.
You see, we are a superlative people in a very large world. Even though technology has allowed the world to “shrink” in many ways, the world is just as big and confusing and complex as it always was.
The world’s story is a superlative story. It is a story of “bling-bling” and glitz and flash and dazzle. It is a story of super-sized, double XX, “big-gulp” and “venti”. It’s a world of fabulous and absolutely. You know what I mean.
And then there is God’s story. God’s story is a story of small things. God’s story is about little miracles in out-of-the way places. God’s story is about mustard seed faith and new life out of old dead stumps. God’s story is about newborns placed in the hands of old people and boy’s slaying goliaths. God’s story is about a God who comes to us in whispers and words carried on the breath of life.
God’s story, the Christmas story, is a story of God becoming one of us, God becoming a human baby, birthed to a poor family in a backwater town. It is the story of God coming with a whisper of a baby.
This should not deceive us, though. This small God is the only God big enough to claim, love, redeem save and transform our lives and the world around us.
Yesterday, I was glancing through some pictures and came across this one
. Of course, it is Owen, as an infant, grasping his father’s nose. But when I saw it, that’s not what I saw.In the imagination of my spirit I saw an image of God as a baby, in human flesh, reaching out with love to touch the heart of a world longing to be loved. I saw an image of God touching me. And my heart smiled!
So, during these Advent days, as you wade through the glitz and the glitter, the busyness and the clutter, I pray that somewhere in there, you’ll hear the small voice of the infant Jesus who came to love you and I pray that somehow, you’ll feel the infant Jesus’ redemptive and loving touch.
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