How do you enter a story?

The end of the video below says, "Enter the Story." Yesterday we jumped from this question to see what story we were entering and why we would enter it. The story was that of God's presence--promised in Leviticus 26, provided in John 1, and envisioned even more fully in Revelation 21. We would enter that story now--the story of John's vision, Jesus being the lamp of God's light, the Father and the Son being the world's temple--because it is that 'entering' that is the act of faith. It is that act of expectant loyalty that shows we have a hope and that we believe in that which is not yet. This is the time of Advent--becoming a people preparing for Christ's return and being prepared by God for that return. But I suppose one question remains...a rather large question! How does one enter a 'story'? What does it mean?

To enter a story means taking the plot of the story--its problem and its anticipated resolution--and making it the purpose of your life. For Christians, the problem is a sin-sick world which does not yet reflect the reign of our Lord. For Christians, the solution is a re-created world with the reign of our Lord being undeniable. We live into the story by reflecting the reign of Jesus now, in spite of the discouragement. We live into the story by looking forward to the end of the story and recognizing that we are in a time where many doubt the truth of the story we tell. Still a little abstract?

Today I met a woman named C. She is a grandma who provides oversight for three of her grandchildren and two children. I want her to know that God is present to her. I want her to catch sight of the vision of Revelation 21. So, I spent some time talking with her. Hearing her concerns. Offering presence in the future. Sharing with her local programs that may be of financial assistance because of her care for her extended family. The story in which I'm trying to live makes sense of this conversation...and it gives it a purpose. C could be financially independent at some point and that will change how I interact with her because the story hasn't changed--God still loves her and wants to be present to her--but my entry into her story will have changed.

No real conclusion to this thought...perhaps because most good stories have promises of continuations and sequels. Even the end of the story of God's presence is not the end, but just the beginning of a much richer story that will never stop being told.

Conspiracies!

You have permission to break the rules of Christmas.

Loving your Enemy

Working my way through reading the entire Bible, I came across these two powerful verses in Exodus:

"If you come across your enemy's ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to take it back to him. If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure to help him with it" (23:4-5).

Jesus affirmed this very idea when he said, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." He went on to ask how one acts any differently from anyone else if they simply love those who love them and hate those who hate them? Doesn't just about everyone do that?

And this is where I love the approach of Jesus and the Old Testament: If you love your enemy--if you take him back his donkey; help her with her oxen--then you are not treating them as an enemy and though they may treat you like one, you undercut their efforts. Peacemaking efforts start with treating the enemy as you would treat a friend.

Oh, sure, people will argue that you can't treat everyone as a friend and that this is dangerous and that loving the weak makes this very complex. And they are right. But the Old Testament text undercuts this escape by telling us how to act in everyday situations. On any given day you really could come across the animal of an enemy wandering off; you could come across an enemy whose load is too large for his beast. On any given day (and especially in the election season and around the holidays!), we do have people say mean things to us; we do have people overlook our kindness; we do have people treat us less than we desire to be treated... And in these situations, its best not to make them overly complex, but simply to overcome evil with good and to undercut the efforts of others to treat us as enemies.

Christians and politics

Today Canadians go to the polls to vote on their next parliament. I have a party that I hopes wins and that I think is best for the country. In three weeks, Americans go to the polls to vote on members of congress and their next President. Over the last week, I have spoken with Americans and Canadians who are very worried about the results of their elections. They have prayed; they have studied; they have reflected. They have done everything one could ask of responsible citizens.

Recently one gentleman's words caught my attention. He said, "What are we going to do after this election?" I thought about his words. It was unclear exactly who he meant as "we." Because he was a Christian, I will assume he meant, "What will Christians do after the next election?" If that's the case, then my answer to him is simple, "Christians will continue to live godly lives, proclaiming there is only one eternal King, and working for the good of the people around whom they live." The reason Christians will continue to do that is because followers of Jesus and followers of Yahweh who were in exile have done that for thousands of years and, quite possibly, will do that for thousands more.

The election that matters most--those whom God has chosen in King Jesus--has already taken place and we have received our marching orders from him, regardless of who presides over whichever country. But this doesn't mean that other elections--like Canadian and American ones--don't matter. As God, through Jeremiah, urged his fellow Jews in exile, "Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.... Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I carried you into exile" (29:5-7). Vote for the people you think can play a role in bringing peace and prosperity to you, your neighbors, and the world. But always remember there is only one prince of peace and only one kingdom that is eternal.

Christians and the government

The story we will be looking through this Sunday, 2 Samuel 11-12, has tremendous implications for the role of the church in Canadian and American politics. The story is of a prophet going to a country's political administration to uncover the murder of a soldier and the adultery of the King. The prophet fools the King into ordering his own condemnation with a story and then pronounces judgment. This King will always lead a violent government and the LORD will bring threats against him from his own family. While the King has tried to cover things up, the prophet announces that God will shame this King in daylight. While God will not kill the King, he will strike down the son of his adultery. The prophet then leaves and returns to his own home (2 Samuel 12:15).

This last sentence is most pertinent to the church in elections. The prophet is not in the employment of the King. The prophet's freedom to speak is not from the King. The prophet is sent by the LORD. The LORD gives the prophet freedom. The church, sometimes sadly seen as a voting bloc, is not charged to maintain its own freedom, but to challenge, uncover, speak. The church is not in the safety of the powers of this world, but of the LORD Jesus.

Kicking back up; This and That

My apologies for not being diligent on this blog for the past couple of weeks.

Not sure if anyone reads this or not, but, hey!... It's good just to write.

I am preparing to continue the series of "Disciplines in Community," developed from David's life. On Sunday we'll be tackling the discipline of humility. Some of the passages we'll be looking at are 2 Samuel 16:5-14; Psalm 23; and Mark 6.

This is a tough discipline because we are poor at speaking truth and at hearing truth. It's also tough because the organized church can sometimes come across as cold--sometimes it is cold--and the truth feels like getting hit with a wet fish.

This makes me excited about the discipline in two weeks, which is accountability. My friend and sister-in-Christ Beth passed a great book along to me a while ago--probably about a year ago--called "Organic Community." I loved a few of the insights this book had and passed it along to a friend who is in management at his work. One of the insights that I did not appreciate at the moment was a movement from being "accountable" to being "editable." I am going to highlight this distinction which I think is prevalent in one event of David's life in two weeks. Thanks, Beth!

Let me close this little bit of rambling off with a quote from "Organic Community" that is so important for me to remember as I lead some of the community initiatives at our church: "It is not the product of community we are looking for. It is the process of belonging that we long for."

Conversion Story

This is a pretty amazing story. It is necessary for North American Christians to read such stories for a few reasons. First, this story paints a picture of a troubled part of the world that we do not always hear. Second, it is amazing to hear a young man's burden for a group of people that are often written off.

Clothe yourselves!

I was thinking this morning about Paul's metaphor of clothing when it comes to the virtues of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. In his letter to the Colossians, he writes, "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience" (3:12).

Two things jumped out at me. First, Paul uses an imperative form of a verb. This is not a passive voice, "Be clothed," but active voice, a command: "Clothe yourselves!" Second, the metaphor of clothing itself implies that one needs to put these on. They may not be "natural" qualities we have. One could very easily find kindness a virtue which they are lacking, but Paul's command to clothe ourselves in kindness is not hindered. If it's something we put on, then it's something we could possibly lack in our more natural personality or demeanor.

Of course, the basis for all this is God's election: God has chosen us, calls us holy, and loves us. Therefore, act like it! :)

Movie Review: The Bucket List

I suppose I am a bit behind the times with this review. However, for my hard earned money (earned, for example, by writing online movie reviews) and for the fact that you can't have conversations with your friends at the movies, I save most movies until I can rent them. My latest was "The Bucket List," which I watched with my wife, Heather.

Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson) and Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman) share little in common but a hospital room and terminal cancer. These commonalities spark a renewed sense of vision for them both, however, through a piece of yellow legal pad paper on which is scrawled the bucket list. This list, a selection of things one wants to do before they kick the bucket, even reflects their differences: Carter, the mechanic who gave up his dreams of teaching so that his kids would not have to forsake their own dreams, wishes to help a stranger, witness something majestic, and drive his dream car; Edward, the wealthy hospital chairman, seeks to kiss the most beautiful woman in the world, hunt the "big cat," and sky dive. Joining together, Edward and Cole seek to complete this list together. Along the way, Edward confronts his loneliness while Carter battles his flagging marriage.

I liked this movie. I thought it was funny in parts and was not drawn out. It tried a little too hard to be profound at times, but, hey, when is Morgan Freeman's voice not automatically profound? Both Nicholson and Freeman played their roles well, complementing more than contrasting with each other's style. The movie also provided a few spots of refection: how our beliefs influence our actions; what true goals are; the importance of relationship; the role of joy in our own lives and through us to others.

More than the story, acting, humor, and intentional moments of reflection, however, "The Bucket List" gives us the opportunity to think theologically or, more exactly, eschatologically--or about the end of this life and the resurrection of the next. I'd like to reflect on this a little bit together in the (hopefully) ensuing conversation. To start us off, here are a few questions. Feel free to answer one, two, or three (and ones not asked!) but try to keep comments to shorter lengths that are more readable.

• What kinds of things might be on your own "bucket list"? Why are they included?
• Does believing that our bodies will be raised and renewed with life influence what our "bucket lists" contain? How so?
  
• Do you think we will be able to do things like race cars, climb mountains, sky dive in the resurrection? What things might you want to do that you think you won't be able to do?
  

Jesus' Story Succinctly

While I will be posting again later today with thoughts on Gary Casterlin's sermon, I wanted to make a quick note about how Paul has so succinctly put together different aspects of Jesus' life and tied it to our spiritual lives.

Chapter 3:1-4 says this, "1Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory."

Paul has mentioned the resurrection (raised with Christ), the ascension (Christ is seated above at the right hand of God), and the return (when Christ appears). Likewise, we have been raised, ought to set our mind on things above, and can be assured of our participation (our appearance) in his glorious in kingdom. Talk about union with Christ!

Fullness of God

Have you ever eaten to the point of being so full its uncomfortable? I am sad to say I have! Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter...all those events that seem to be oriented around food can sometimes get the best of me.

The Gospel of John has its own notion of being full. John writes that Jesus is full of grace and truth and that from the fullness of God's grace, we receive our blessings. Paul uses the concept of fullness to describe Jesus' relationship to God. Colossians 2:9 says that the fullness of Deity--of Godness--lives in Jesus. The fullness of God lives (in the present!) in the body of Jesus. But Paul continues. Those in Christ, in relationship with him, have been given fullness. This means that there is nothing we lack in Christ. This is not to say that there is no room to grow, but that there is nothing we lack to be whom God has made us to be. We are already full. When we grow in Christ--having our roots grow down in him and being built up in him--it is first because we have been given the ability to expand. Like a balloon that is full but can still expand, we receive fullness in Christ and then can also expand in him.

The problem is that before we receive Christ and begin being rooted in him, we try to fill ourselves with other things. We grasp on to things like intimidation, intelligence, being a victim, money, and even other people (friends, spouses, even our children) to fill us and our struggling identities. Now you can begin to see the problem: when we are in Christ--in whom the fullness of God lives--we receive fullness. This means there is no more "space" for things other than God to occupy and he will begin to remove them: if our identity was in our money, our spouse, our intelligence, our ability to intimidate, our victimage, our children, those identities will die. They need to die. In some cases, like intimidation, they need to stay dead. In other cases, like relationships, they will be received back only now not as sources of who we are, but as gifts from the fullness of grace who also gives us Jesus. The amazing thing is that centering ourselves on God is the best gift we can give to those in relationship to us because only then are we, ourselves, truly full and able to give unconditional love to others. Otherwise we're offering shells of who we are to the people we love the most, while expecting them to fill a void in us that only God can fill.

Jesus gets bigger

Last year I attended a workshop on explaining salvation to kids put on by Anji D'Achille. It was really great. (One take away that I still use is to bend or get down on your knees to be at eye level with children when speaking with them. Thanks, Anji!) The metaphor of friendship was used for salvation, saying you were asking Jesus to be your "forever friend."

The metaphor that was used with me as a child, and is often still used with adults, is to "ask Jesus into your heart." I think it's a good metaphor and is compatible with Paul's language in Colossians 2:6 about receiving King Jesus as Lord. The implication is that you have brought Jesus near to you. But take another look at Colossians 2:6-7. Paul immediately flips the metaphor: while at first we received Christ near us, now we are to live in him, rooted in him, built up in him. Our life, depth, and growth happens in Jesus. Paul's point is to make sure that while at first we may have invited Jesus into our hearts, the fact is our hearts are far too small to contain him.

This reminds me of a line from C.S. Lewis' Prince Caspian. Lucy, the picture of childhood innocence and, at times, insecurity, is becoming reacquainted with the lion Aslan, the Christ figure. The dialog goes like this:

“Aslan,” said Lucy, “you’re bigger.”

“That is because you are older, little one,” answered Aslan.

“Not because you are?”

“I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger.”

I think Paul would agree with Lewis here. As we grow and deepen in our faith, living it out, we see that it's not so much we who have invited Jesus into our hearts, but Jesus who has invited us into his. He's just that big.

Review: The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight (TDK), director Christopher Nolan's second movie from Frank Miller's graphic novels, is not your typical summer movie. If that's what you're looking for, go see Hancock. TDK, which tells the story of Harvey Dent and James Gordon's heroic prosecution of organized crime, the Joker's manic and demented self-hatred, and Batman's determined solitude and misunderstood efforts, breaks company with other super-hero movies, leaving the viewer with less resolution than when they entered.

With fear growing more and more intense in Gotham, villains and heroes alike begin to shine. Heroes like District Attorney Harvey Dent, Lieutenant James Gordon, Lucius Fox, and Batman emerge as true souls, brave enough to face the growing darkness. The darkness, a better class of criminal, goes beyond the petty greed of mobsters and crime lords to the psychotic and demented Joker. Rather than simply trying to bully and beat his way to riches, the Joker is more concerned with making others feel the emotional pain he lives with. What better way to do this than by constantly forcing anyone with whom he comes in contact to become like him? The Joker pits petty thugs against one another, convicted criminals against average citizens and vice versa, turns trusted police officers into kidnappers, sets Harvey Dent up for demented revenge, and, ultimately, challenges Batman to become the breaker of rules any right minded individual would become to fight evil. TDK weaves its plot, which is basically the capture of the Joker, through these themes.

TDK excells in almost every category. It never bores. It looks fantastic. Its actors play their roles effortlessly. (I especially enjoyed Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman.) The story is compelling and not overly complex. Where it most excels is in its character development. This, however, is what makes the movie difficult to watch, at points, and keeps it from being an 'enjoyable' movie experience. The Joker is terrible. Literally, a terrible person. The more his mania grows, his insanity deepens, and his chops get licked, the edgier the viewer becomes. This edge never softens until the end, and then only slightly. The edginess of the movie stays with the viewer. As a result, this is not a kids movie. I could not recommend this movie to anyone below 15 and then I would still caution it.

TDK is a threshold movie for all superhero films. No longer will serious super-hero movies have goofy, gratuitous violence and flashy costumes. TDK shows a distinct difference between whipped cream superhero movies and compelling stories told around superheroes.

Being reminded of the gospel

It is easy to throw around terms and phrases in Christian circles. One such phrase is "the gospel" or "the good news." But what exactly is the good news? In Roman culture, the birth of a male heir to the throne was announced as "gospel"--and with good reason! Without a designated male heir, the kingdom could fall into anarchy. For Paul, however, the gospel was not about a future king over the Roman empire. The gospel is nothing short that God has reconciled us to himself, bringing us into God's own presence, and being considered holy (1:21-23). This news is so good for Paul that he considers it his life's work. He has become a slave to this news, proclaiming it wherever he goes (1:23).

Qualities vs. Qualifications

Paul gives a list of things belonging to the "earthly nature" that Christians should "put to death" (Colossians 3:5): sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed. He goes on to say we should clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience (v. 12). The trend as Christians is to confuse qualities of a Christian with qualifications for becoming one.

In Colossians 1, we read that it is God who has qualified us by rescuing us. We do not need to line up a list of qualifications to enter the Kingdom of the Son. We need not and cannot qualify ourselves.

However, Christians have the opportunity and responsibility to grow in their Christlike qualities. Christians ought to be people who exhibit compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Without such qualities, one can wonder at why they are missing out in part of the joys of being in friendship with God! What is keeping them from it? But should we get too focused on the questions of why, we should note that the qualities themselves come because we are simply dearly loved by God. Such love is transformative and its growth in us is grounded in the hope that we have (1:5).

What qualification have you typically thought you needed to become a Christian?
What qualities do you need to grow in as your friendship with God deepens?

God the Father

I sometimes take God as Father for granted. Just this morning I saw exactly why God is my Father. I read in Colossians that God has qualified me, a person reading Colossians and entrusted with it by previous Christians; that God has qualified me, a person who has sinned openly, arrogantly, hiddenly; that God has qualified me to share in the inheritance that belongs to his Son and those in his Son's kingdom. I call God Father because I am in his Son's kingdom and this is by his invitation, by his rescue.

Colossians and Politics

Hi friends,

This post will be a little longer than normal, and for that, I apologize. However, the subject is one that is very important and must always be handled with respect.

Being the week of July 1 (Canada Day) and July 4 (U.S. Independence Day), let's reflect on politics and the book of Colossians. I know what some are thinking: Politics and religion are supposed to be separate! Separate, of course, means that political authority will not set up and promote any one religion. It does not mean that religion and politics will never be in competition or conflict. In fact, they often are. Colossians, though we often miss it, gives us a good picture of this sort of conflict.

First, let me draw your attention to recent speeches on patriotism by the two (presumptive) candidates for the 44th President of the U.S.A., Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain. Give them a read. (You'll notice how similar they are, even though the politics of both men is fairly different!)

Take special note of these two quotations and what they imply. First, Senator McCain says, "Patriotism is deeper than its symbolic expressions, than sentiments about place and kinship that move us to hold our hands over our hearts during the national anthem. It is putting the country first, before party or personal ambition, before anything." Second, Senator Obama says, "In the end, it may be this quality that best describes patriotism in my mind — not just a love of America in the abstract, but a very particular love for, and faith in, one another as Americans."

In Paul's day, the Roman Empire had established what is called the Pax Romana, the Peace of Rome. Rome boasted a gospel that it had brought peace and prosperity because of the divinity and glory of their rulers. Paul, however, says something different. Paul wishes peace from God the Father (1:3), not Rome, because the gospel is that God brought reconciliation through Jesus Christ (1:21-23). And rather than Caesar being the head, it is Jesus--he is the image of God, the ruler of all powers, rulers, and authorities (1:15-17).

Paul has taken the political language of his culture and has made sure that his readers know that Jesus is the one to whom they owe primary allegiance. We must also listen to the language of political leaders and critique our own allegiances. As Christians, we could never agree with Senator McCain that we should put our countries before anything and we should push Senator Obama's boundaries of loving Americans, and be defined as a community of people who love all, and who have primary allegiance to brothers and sisters of the true Lord, Jesus.

This is not to say that Christians cannot be proud of their country and have a sense of loyalty to it. Paul was very proud of his Jewish heritage and tradition! However, his loyalty was first and always to Jesus and that put him at odds with his fellow Jews from time to time. Christians of the 21st century should expect nothing different.

Faith, Hope, and Love

I find it interesting how Paul lumps faith, hope, and love together. In 1:4-5, he says that faith in Christ Jesus and love for the saints spring from hope that is stored in heaven. Many times we think that hope flows from believing in Christ, but here Paul says that our hope that we have heard about--being reconciled to God through Jesus Christ (verses 21-23)--leads to faith in/loyalty to King Jesus.

This is a necessary reminder for someone like me because I can become too introspective--Do I really have faith? Do I really believe? Is my heart really loyal? (And you thought you were the only one who asked these questions!) Instead of always examining my faith, Paul's note encourages me to look to Jesus, to look to the hope of reconciliation, and let faith develop from there.

What stories of reconciliation do you know that simply must have God in them?
What aspect of the faith do you find most "hopeful" in developing your faith?

What about Oprah's question?

Hi friends,

I will be sharing more on Colossians later in the week, but I wanted to address the question that we saw on Youtube yesterday. Pastor Gary got us thinking a little bit about the very big question, "Can people who have never heard about Jesus be saved?" Like most big questions, Christians have thought about this one for a long time--almost since the very beginning of the faith!

Traditionally there have been three responses that help us to form an answer. Of course, these responses are oversimplified, but that helps people like me keep them straight!

1. Pluralism. This is the view that it seemed Oprah wanted to take. It takes seriously that there are millions, perhaps billions of people, who will never hear the name of Jesus even though they are religious and engage in worship. The basic idea is that all religions are equal and can lead to God, or whatever one calls the Supreme Being of the universe. A classic image is that of four blind people feeling a large elephant, each describing something different: One feels the legs, one feels the trunk, one feels the tail, one feels the body and so give a different description, even though they are all feeling the same animal. The idea is that people have different experiences of God, but are all feeling God.

This view has not been held by traditional Christians.

2. Exclusivism. This view says that conscious knowledge of Jesus Christ is the only route to being saved. Exclusivists point to passages like Acts 4:12. This view takes seriously the person of Jesus of Nazareth and traditional beliefs of orthodox Christianity, for example that Jesus is God incarnate.

This view has been held by many Christians.

3. Inclusivism. This view says that anyone who is saved is saved by Jesus and his work on the cross, even though a person may never have heard of Jesus. This view takes seriously that the Christian faith makes true claims and that other religions are in error, but that the God and Father of Jesus may still reach other people in spite of their wrong beliefs. Often inclusivists will point to Acts 2 and Pentecost as evidence that the Holy Spirit is at work in many cultures.

This view has been held by many Christians, as well, including C.S. Lewis. Lewis' final book of the Chronicles of Narnia, The Last Battle, pictures a soldier who does not worship Aslan (Jesus figure), but has worshiped a false god named Tash. When the soldier asks Aslan how he can be in Aslan's kingdom since he worshiped Tash, Aslan says, "All the service thou hast done to Tash, I accept as service done to me," and goes on to say, "No service which is vile can be done to me, and none which is not vile can be done to him."

Keep reading Colossians!

Gearing up for Colossians

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