Hi Everyone,
I hope today finds you well. I walk to the ferry to get to school everyday. Yesterday morning, I left around 645AM, so it was still partially dark outside. It'd rained, but looked like it was clearing up, so I thought it'd be an enjoyable walk. I got maybe 200 feet from the house before my foot slid out from under me, dropping me roughly to the ground where I cracked my knee and elbow. "What happened?" I wondered. As I gathered myself and got up I saw this black, plastic mug sized lid-like thing right by me. "Dang it!" I thought, "someone left this silly lid on the sidewalk and caused me to slip and fall. How rude!" At least I had someone (albeit nameless( to blame.
I griped about my fall to a couple people, blaming the black lid bandit all the while, during the day. In the late afternoon I was moving places at school, so looked at the bottom of my coffee mug as I picked it up and noticed the plastic bottom was missing! "That's weird," I thought. ... pause ... "Oh, that black plastic lid I saw that I used as a reason to blame someone for my fall was my coffee mug's lid." I guess I just slipped on my own item (or the wet sidewalk perhaps). I shouldn't have been blaming some nameless other person.
This theme has come up in the C.S. Lewis class I'm taking as well. We're into book 5 of the 7 Chronicles of Narnia books. In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, at one point, while the gang is travelling somewhere Lucy is the only one who sees Aslan. The Lion indicates to her to follow him by going a different way than they were planning to. She tells her siblings, but they end up voting to go the way they'd planned, which ends up not turning out so well. Later, when they backtrack and meet up with Aslan He questions her about the event and she starts to blame her siblings for not following Him. But, He tells her not to blame them, it was for her to follow regardless.
The interesting thing about this is that blaming is the second sin in the Bible. In the Garden of Eden, after Adam and Eve eat the apple they feel shame (the first sin) for their nakedness. Then, when God talks to them about eating the apple they begin blaming. Adam blames Eve for doing it first and offering it to him, and Eve blames the Serpent. Blaming is a problem for us that goes back a long way.
My fall yesterday is helping teach me not to blame. Is there anyone you need to stop blaming?
Grace and peace,
Lang
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Loving the outcast, poor, and forsaken ... Loving the other
Good day everyone-
I'm taking a class on the Book of Ruth. One of the really interesting things that's standing out to me about that story is how Boaz (a well-to-do man) reaches out to, takes care of, and eventually marry a poor widow from a foreign country, Ruth. And this was in a culture where being a foreigner created a huge relational gap. Over and over again in the book the author makes sure to note that Ruth was a Moabite (even when it's awkward from a story-telling perspective); in other words, not only was Ruth a foreigner, she was a foreigner from a country Israel didn't get along with. Boaz provided for and loved a poor outcast. But, he was just the hero from a story who we're supposed to hold in awe right? I don't think so, I think Jesus calls us to be like Boaz.
I was listening to a sermon last week where the preacher talked about Jesus announcing His ministry in Luke. To do this, He chooses Isaiah 61 to read from. Luke 4:16-20 reads:
16 When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. 17 The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
that the blind will see,
that the oppressed will be set free,
19 and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.*”
20 He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently.
What strikes me, as a follower of Christ, is that Jesus' way of starting his ministry is to announce He's there to bring good news to the poor and set the oppressed free. Christian literally means one who follows Christ. In following Him I find I want to do these things, I want to be like Boaz (without marrying a foreigner though ... Carla wouldn't like that much :).
What do you think?
Grace and peace,
Lang
I'm taking a class on the Book of Ruth. One of the really interesting things that's standing out to me about that story is how Boaz (a well-to-do man) reaches out to, takes care of, and eventually marry a poor widow from a foreign country, Ruth. And this was in a culture where being a foreigner created a huge relational gap. Over and over again in the book the author makes sure to note that Ruth was a Moabite (even when it's awkward from a story-telling perspective); in other words, not only was Ruth a foreigner, she was a foreigner from a country Israel didn't get along with. Boaz provided for and loved a poor outcast. But, he was just the hero from a story who we're supposed to hold in awe right? I don't think so, I think Jesus calls us to be like Boaz.
I was listening to a sermon last week where the preacher talked about Jesus announcing His ministry in Luke. To do this, He chooses Isaiah 61 to read from. Luke 4:16-20 reads:
16 When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. 17 The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
that the blind will see,
that the oppressed will be set free,
19 and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.*”
20 He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently.
What strikes me, as a follower of Christ, is that Jesus' way of starting his ministry is to announce He's there to bring good news to the poor and set the oppressed free. Christian literally means one who follows Christ. In following Him I find I want to do these things, I want to be like Boaz (without marrying a foreigner though ... Carla wouldn't like that much :).
What do you think?
Grace and peace,
Lang
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Becoming What We Desire and God's Redemption
Greetings everyone-
I'm in a class on C.S. Lewis this term, which is awesome. Right now we're reading through a Narnia book for each week and discussing how Lewis' theology shows up in these stories. For this week we read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, so the main characters are the four children, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. I was struck by Edmund, who you may recall goes over to the Witch's side at first. Something that stands out in the book, even more than in the recent movie, is his desire for food (he has a serious sweet tooth). The Witch gives him Turkish Delight when they first meet and he becomes obsessed with getting back to her ... to get more Turkish Delight. When he does get back to her, she gives him stale bread because he didn't bring his siblings with him. He gets what he desires, food, but he chooses the selfish and evil path and thus his desire comes true, but in a less than good fashion.
Then, redemption steps in. The Witch brings Edmund with her to chase the other children and along the way they spot squirrels, satyrs, a dwarf, and a fox enjoying a fine meal given them by Father Christmas. Edmund, naturally, really wants the great food they have, but the Witch is enraged by their joy and turns them all to stone. In that moment, Edmund heart breaks for them. In that moment, his desire is redeemed by the Divine and he turns back to the good side.
Interestingly, I'm also taking a class on 1 and 2 Corinthians and I saw this theme play out there this week as well. We're studying Paul a fair bit to better understand his letters, and before he began following Christ he was a Pharisee. In fact, he was a very committed Pharisee (he calls himself a Pharisee of Pharisees). The three chief components of this way of life were zeal, the Law, and belief in the resurrection. Then, Jesus appears to him dramatically and he begins to follow Christ ... his life changes dramatically. However, the things at his core don't change, they are just redeemed by God and shifted to Christ. He is still zealous, still affirms the goodness of the Law, and believes in the resurrection, they just all become transformed into passions aimed at Christ.
Both Edmund and Paul had strong desires that guided them, badly at first. Then, when God redeemed them, their redemption includes and redeems their passions. Put differently, redemption doesn't destroy their passions, it turns them for good, it turns them for Christ.
How has God's redemption touched your desires and passions?
Grace and peace,
Lang
I'm in a class on C.S. Lewis this term, which is awesome. Right now we're reading through a Narnia book for each week and discussing how Lewis' theology shows up in these stories. For this week we read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, so the main characters are the four children, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. I was struck by Edmund, who you may recall goes over to the Witch's side at first. Something that stands out in the book, even more than in the recent movie, is his desire for food (he has a serious sweet tooth). The Witch gives him Turkish Delight when they first meet and he becomes obsessed with getting back to her ... to get more Turkish Delight. When he does get back to her, she gives him stale bread because he didn't bring his siblings with him. He gets what he desires, food, but he chooses the selfish and evil path and thus his desire comes true, but in a less than good fashion.
Then, redemption steps in. The Witch brings Edmund with her to chase the other children and along the way they spot squirrels, satyrs, a dwarf, and a fox enjoying a fine meal given them by Father Christmas. Edmund, naturally, really wants the great food they have, but the Witch is enraged by their joy and turns them all to stone. In that moment, Edmund heart breaks for them. In that moment, his desire is redeemed by the Divine and he turns back to the good side.
Interestingly, I'm also taking a class on 1 and 2 Corinthians and I saw this theme play out there this week as well. We're studying Paul a fair bit to better understand his letters, and before he began following Christ he was a Pharisee. In fact, he was a very committed Pharisee (he calls himself a Pharisee of Pharisees). The three chief components of this way of life were zeal, the Law, and belief in the resurrection. Then, Jesus appears to him dramatically and he begins to follow Christ ... his life changes dramatically. However, the things at his core don't change, they are just redeemed by God and shifted to Christ. He is still zealous, still affirms the goodness of the Law, and believes in the resurrection, they just all become transformed into passions aimed at Christ.
Both Edmund and Paul had strong desires that guided them, badly at first. Then, when God redeemed them, their redemption includes and redeems their passions. Put differently, redemption doesn't destroy their passions, it turns them for good, it turns them for Christ.
How has God's redemption touched your desires and passions?
Grace and peace,
Lang
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Sola Scriptura, Tradition, and Gungor
I come from a pretty normal conservative, Protestant Christian background. Part of this tradition is Sola Scriptura, or Scripture alone. Beginning with Luther, Calvin, and other Protestant fathers, this part of the church basically said if it's not in the Bible we're not following it. I fully embraced this as a young adult. Anything we can, or should, know about God is in the Bible ... period. There is where we get the very Bible-centered churches and practices of today from.
Last year at Mars Hill Graduate School, now the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology, one of the things we talked about was the importance of tradition in following Christ and learning about God. The most ironic part of this is that it is through tradition that we believe the Bible is the Word of God. It is through tradition that many Protestants believe the principle of Sola Scriptura. What's more, what about the Holy Spirit? Don't we learn some things about God directly from God and apart from the Bible? Even further, as followers of Jesus we are all part of the Body of Christ right? Parts that are in the image of God. So, can't we learn about God from each other too? I could keep going, but I think I'm making the point.
So, there's this amazing album by Gungor called Beautiful Things, full of awesome songs. One of them is named "Cannot Keep You." Some of the lyrics are:
they tried to keep you in a tent
they could not keep you in a temple
or any of their idols, to see and understand
we cannot keep you in a church
we cannot keep you in a Bible
or it’s just another idol to box you in
they could not keep you in their walls
we cannot keep you in ours either
you are so much greater
Who is like the Lord?
The Maker of the Heavens.
Indeed. I'm learning I cannot keep God in the Bible alone. He is so much more. Where do you keep God?
Last year at Mars Hill Graduate School, now the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology, one of the things we talked about was the importance of tradition in following Christ and learning about God. The most ironic part of this is that it is through tradition that we believe the Bible is the Word of God. It is through tradition that many Protestants believe the principle of Sola Scriptura. What's more, what about the Holy Spirit? Don't we learn some things about God directly from God and apart from the Bible? Even further, as followers of Jesus we are all part of the Body of Christ right? Parts that are in the image of God. So, can't we learn about God from each other too? I could keep going, but I think I'm making the point.
So, there's this amazing album by Gungor called Beautiful Things, full of awesome songs. One of them is named "Cannot Keep You." Some of the lyrics are:
they tried to keep you in a tent
they could not keep you in a temple
or any of their idols, to see and understand
we cannot keep you in a church
we cannot keep you in a Bible
or it’s just another idol to box you in
they could not keep you in their walls
we cannot keep you in ours either
you are so much greater
Who is like the Lord?
The Maker of the Heavens.
Indeed. I'm learning I cannot keep God in the Bible alone. He is so much more. Where do you keep God?
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