Becoming Youier

John Ortberg

 

I listened to John Ortberg as I drove to Seattle.  He spoke of walking in step with God, enabled to develop in the good ways that He intends.  One point Ortberg made was that some things about each person will never go away, because God intentionally created particular traits in each person.  Rather than being eliminated with spiritual growth, they will be redirected.  God is very intentional about creation, including the creation of each person's personality.

For example, before he met Christ, the Apostle Paul was a passionate, brilliant, zealous man, and he persecuted Christians.  After he met Christ, he was a brilliant, passionate, zealous man, and those traits were instrumental to the spread of the gospel.  In more recent times, Chuck Colson's drive, motivation and ambition led him to places of significant political influence and then to prison.  After he met Christ, his drive, motivation and ambition led him to make an incredibly positive difference through prison ministries.  Redemption is not replacement of the old, but its return to a better state.  Ortberg concludes that God works His redemption in the life of everyone who is aligned with the Holy Spirit.  "You won't just get holier, you will get you-ier," becoming more and more the excellent version of you that you were created to be.

I was listening to this sermon on the way to Seattle for a two-day workshop on Fierce Conversations.  "Fierce" is not about being bloody, cruel, or threatening, but robust, intense, strong, powerful, and passionate.  "Fierce" conversations are ones in which we stop pretending, when we refuse to take the easy way out, when we bypass the simplistic answers that really don't mean squat.  Fierce conversations are ones in which we function respectfully and without masks, showing up boldly as ourselves.  Truly fierce conversations create respectful space that encourages others to show up boldly as themselves, too.

Scott's "fierce" sounds to me like Ortberg's "you-ier," and both sound like Christ.

Christmas Season: First Sunday

In the Christian liturgical calendar, Christmas is not just one day, but twelve. December 26 marks the first Sunday of the Christmas season. Lectionary readings:
Isaiah 63:7-9
Psalm 148
Hebrews 2:10-18
Matthew 2:13-23
You can read them here.

Christmas

Remember that impossibly long song about the Twelve Days of Christmas? I never understood it as a kid, because we only had one day of Christmas. It seemed more like a song teachers made up to keep us busy when we were too excitable to learn. But there are indeed twelve days of Christmas, and today is the official start. Here are the Christmas readings:
Isaiah 52:7-10
Psalm 98
Hebrews 1:1-12
John 1:1-14
You can read them here.

Advent: Christmas Eve

Advent is a time of preparation, getting ready to celebrate the birth of Christ. The last day of the Advent season is Christmas Eve. It's one of those special days of focus, with these as lectionary readings:
Isaiah 62:6-12
Psalm 97
Titus 3:4-7
Luke 2:1-20
You can read them here.

Identity

"Who are you?"

There are many ways to answer this question, defining oneself by family relationships, friendships, work roles, culture, gender, ethnicity, preferences, skills, education, personality traits, sports teams, physical appearance, and so much more.  These can be an important to a sense of identity, and are certainly part of God's unique creative work in each of us.  But such descriptions cannot reach to the core.

Paul's letter to the Romans is an incredible work, articulating the foundations of grace, faith, and righteousness.  How does he begin such a letter?  He starts with the character of God and then his own identity in Christ.  Paul knew he was a servant, an apostle, set apart for God, one who has received grace.  His identity was in Christ, and only from that perspective could he begin to proclaim the gospel.

I am reminded of Jesus' words in John 13: "Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist."  He took on the menial role of a servant who would customarily wash the feet -- likely they were dirty and smelly from walking along dirt paths -- of the guests before a meal.  Jesus knew who he was and he did not serve in spite of recognizing his divine nature, but because of it.

When we see clearly who God is, and who He invites us to be in Him, we create space for His transforming work to bring about great fruit in our lives.

Advent: Week 4

December 19 is the fourth Sunday of Advent. Lectionary readings:
Isaiah 7:10-16
Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
Romans 1:1-7
Matthew 1:18-25
You can read them here.

Heart in the Bible

I've been reading a book about emotional health in the church.  Truthfully, I did not want to like this book.  The first time I picked it up, it was with rolling eyes.  After all, if we focus on doctrinal beliefs and how to apply those to our everyday actions, isn't that what really matters?

As it turns out, no, that is not all that really matters.

The Bible talks a lot about the heart.  For example, the Sermon on the Mount is filled with "You have heard it said [behavior], but I tell you [about the underlying heart issue]."  It addresses such topics as worry, grief, and anger.  Paul's famous description of love in I Corinthians 13 includes many feeling words.  And, of course, the Psalms give voice to a tremendous variety of human emotion.

Scazzero's writing has been challenging me quite a bit lately.  My tendency, like many in the Church, is to focus on intellect and behavior while neglecting the heart.  But to refuse to bring my emotional side to God for examination is to make a part of myself off-limits to God, closing myself off to His sanctifying work.

Bringing Gifts

When I was a child, we used to cut the annual gift catalogs into strips and make colorful paper-chain garland out of them.  Such mess-making destruction was normally frowned upon, so it felt like a fabulously fun privilege, and a little artsy, too.  Looking back now, I like the symbolism of creating nearly-free tree decorations while destroying catalogs intended to entice us toward spending money.

When I was a child, I learned the story of Christmas.  We heard about Mary and Joseph, the innkeeper, the shepherds, and various other characters.  (Of the various parts I played in the various Christmas plays, my favorite was the camel.  I don't remember whether it was a talking camel, but it was definitely a singing one.)

Among the characters of Christmas were the Magi, a.k.a. Wise Men.  Christmas plays usually showed three of them, each carrying a gift to Jesus -- gold, incense, and myrrh.  When I was a child, I didn't understand this.  I thought about the toys in the Christmas catalogs, and the "wise men" didn't seem too smart to me.  After all, who gives perfume and embalming materials to an infant?

As an adult, though, I have learned some of the symbolism and value of those gifts, and realize they were far more significant than a fun plastic toy.  In addition to their practical value for a struggling family, they were appropriate gifts for the King and foreshadowed the sacrificial death of Jesus.

As we were talking about getting ready for Christmas, a friend of mine described wanting to offer a gift to Jesus, like the Wise Men did.  It brought up the question: What would be an appropriate and desirable gift for the King?  This friend of mine talked personally about a shift in attitude that would be a very good gift for Christ this year.  When I was a child, I may have suggested a gift that was flashier, more fun, because "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child..." (I Corinthians 13:11)

When I was a child, I did not recognize the value of the gifts brought by the Magi many years ago, or by my friend more recently.  As as adult, though, as I approach God in this Advent season, I want to give the gift of genuine love described in I Corinthians 13:  "Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails..."

Love for his people -- all people -- is a great gift for our King.

Advent: Week 3

December 12 is the third Sunday of Advent. Lectionary readings:
Isaiah 35:1-10
Psalm 146:5-10 or Luke 1:47-55
James 5:7-10
Matthew 11:2-11
You can read them here.

What's Your Hurry?

My dad is generally unruffled.  He is deliberative and wise.  He considers situations with appropriate care and chooses how to respond.  He's the calm one in stressful situations.

Most of the time, anyway.

Apparently when my brother broke his leg and started yelling, my dad moved faster than any of us kids had ever seen.  There was something wrong with his son, and he was going to get there.  We are a priority to him, and when he heard Don's voice, he knew something was wrong, which created a sense of urgency.  He hurried.

Pastor Joel preached today on the "Grunts" in the Advent story: the shepherds.  Context is important, of course, so here is a really quick description of where we're at in the story...

Veronica lighting
the Advent candles

Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem for the census, and Mary gave birth to Jesus while there.  Shepherds in nearby fields were working as usual when an angel appeared and told them, "Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in clothes and lying in a manger."  Then, suddenly, there were many angels present and praising God.  When the angels left, the shepherds decided together to go to Bethlehem and check out for themselves what the angels had said.

"So they hurried off..." (Luke 2:16)

The shepherds had received some really good news, and Pastor Joel talked (audio available -- listen or download) about what they did with that news.  For me, in this season, one thing Joel said today particularly caught my attention:  The shepherds were urgent about what was important.

This time of year brings many things that feel urgent.  There are trees to put up, homes to decorate, parties to attend, cards to send, gifts to prepare, plans to finalize, and so forth.  Not to mention the usual (and unusual) responsibilities at home and work.  Not all of them are equally important, though.

I can be flexible on most of my to-do list, really, as long as I stay focused on what is most important.  The big two non-negotiables?  God and the people in my life.

There isn't much reason to hurry, really.  God has given me all the time I need to accomplish all that He has for me.  And that is enough.

Advent: Week 2

December 5 is the second Sunday of Advent. Lectionary readings:
Isaiah 11:1-10
Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19
Romans 15:4-13
Matthew 3:1-12
You can read them here.

Advent-ure

Pastor Bob

Bob Luhn commented recently that "Advent" is the first part of "adventure," which so beautifully describes this season.  A bit skeptical, I looked it up in an online dictionary to see if there really is a linguistic connection, or if it's more of a coincidence.  I like what I found there.

As it turns out, both words do originate from forms of the Latin advenire and its French relatives.  Adventure speaks of "what must happen," and its meaning has shifted some over the years to suggest risk/danger and "a novel or exciting incident."  This whole progression makes sense to me.  The future is always unknown, which carries with it a sense of risk.  We respond to risk quite naturally with a measure of excitement.

And Advent?  Advent is about the coming of Jesus.  God had been saying for years that the Messiah would come.  It was risky in many ways, but it was how He would save us from ourselves.  During this season of Advent, we wait with intention and faith, imaginatively pondering what it was like for God's people to wait those many years without knowing when the Messiah would come, or really even how he would appear.

There is something else here, too.  Though Christ did come two thousand years ago, Advent reminds us that we still wait for his return.  As God's people waited and did not know the details of Jesus' coming ahead of time, so too we wait with longing and hopeful expectancy for his Second Coming.

Advent is a time of adventure, waiting for what must happen, recognizing risk involved, and sensing the excitement of what will be.  Like any good adventure, I want to be sure I am fully alert and ready as the future comes.

-- Debi

One Candle, for Now

It doesn't happen very often, but I occasionally have the urge to assemble a jigsaw puzzle.  I like bringing order to a Big Box o' Disordered Pieces, and find that the process sometimes helps bring order to disordered thoughts, too.  Puzzles often come together in sections -- the sky, perhaps, or an animal, or a section of red flowers.  Finishing sections builds anticipation of the moment when the last piece is put in place.

We had a Hanging of the Greens service at church this evening.  The process of decorating was mixed with explanations of symbolism and songs related to meanings.  The part that most caught my attention on this particular day was about the Advent wreath:

"Something is happening, and something more is still to come."

This morning, Parker lit the first of five candles in the Advent wreath because today is the first Sunday of Advent.  That one burning candle represents light of God coming into our world.  It is a reminder that, in the midst of what often seems so ordinary, God is at work.  He always has been.  Though we may not always see it, something is happening.

As the one candle burned brightly, the other four remained dark and cool.  Those are a reminder of what is yet to be.  We don't usually know quite what it will look like or how it will unfold, but we can be confident that God is already in it, that He is faithful to bring about good.  Whatever the future holds, we know that something more is still to come.

The season of Advent is not just the Pre-Christmas Season.  It is its own time, traditionally marked by a sense of longing expectancy, of not yet experiencing fulfillment of promise but waiting for it with faith and hope.  I choose in this time to celebrate what I see already happening, and to wait patiently for what is still to come.

-- Debi

Advent: Week 1

November 28 is the first Sunday of Advent. Lectionary readings:
Isaiah 2:1-5
Psalm 122
Romans 13:11-14
Matthew 24:36-44
You can read them here.

About Time

I have been pondering the concept of time today. We're coming up on the season of Advent, which marks the beginning of a different kind of year...

The "liturgical calendar" began in the early centuries of the Church, marking time and story particularly through the story of Jesus Christ. The rhythms and traditions of the seasons settle the Story more deeply in our souls, reminding us throughout of who God is, of who we are, and of who we can be.

I received an interesting calendar a few years ago. Rather than printing one calendar month on each page, it divides time by the liturgical seasons. It invites us to flex a bit with how we experience time. I am not planning to give up my electronic calendar anytime soon, but I do intend to focus more on the seasons this year than on the calendar months. Lectionary readings are listed, too. I am planning to use this as a reading (and writing) guide during the upcoming year, and invite others to join me in this.

In this time of transitions, I look back over the past year and forward toward the next. I wonder what will happen, and who we will become, and especially who we will become together.

-- Debi

Thanks-Giving

I was in a conversation recently with a grateful fellow. He detailed many reasons he was thankful, just from the previous day or two, and smiled, "What more could I want?" He thought about it a moment, then followed up with "Well, I need a new [major internal organ], but that'll work out okay." He pondered this a moment, then returned to expressing his gratitude.

It made me smile, and it made me think. How often am I distracted by the rather small things which sometimes inconvenience my life, and miss the many good things that come my way?

-- Debi

Altars and Monuments

In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the LORD at its border.  Isaiah 19:19

Life has a need for both altars and monuments - places to worship and to tell stories.  The problem comes when we get the two confused.   We must worship at the altar and tell stories at the monuments.

I have been very intentional lately about telling my son stories from when I was his age.  While I know these stories can be met with the rolled eyes that typically accompany "when I was your age" stories, He seems to be very interested in them.  I credit his interest to the fact that the stories haven't focused on me or any uphill walk to school (both ways).  I've made the stories focus on God and what he was doing in my life as an 8 year old.  Worship is a keystone for our family, but we must not forget to tells the stories of God's faithfulness.

- Joel

Not Forever

We've been having some great discussions in the Wednesday night Bible study. I find myself learning something new every week, seeing scripture and people -- including me -- from new perspectives.

One of the gold nuggets I found this week is in the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. The devil came to tempt Jesus, misusing the promises of scripture in attempt to get him to compromise into doing wrong. Jesus responded each time by standing his ground and doing what was right. "Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him" (Matthew 4:11).

It was a good reminder that difficult times do not last forever. Grief, temptation, anger -- all of these wax and wane. Standing firm just a little longer, especially when it seems too much, provides space for victory.

It reminds me, too, of what Paul wrote to the Ephesians:

"Therefore put on the full armor of God,

so that when the day of evil comes,

you may be able to stand your ground,

and after you have done everything,

to stand" (Ephesians 6:13).

-- Debi

Communion

Mark and I went to church in Portland this past Sunday.  Before Pastor Bill served Communion there, he talked about that word.  "Communion" speaks of sharing and relationship.  When we take the bread and juice together in this symbolism-rich meal, it is a powerful reminder of relationships with God and with each other, made possible through Jesus Christ. And it was not just those of us in that room of that church building at that time.  On that morning, I was struck by how the act of receiving Communion connected us with our home church, others with whom we have worshiped throughout our lives, and even people we've never met.  I am grateful for this gift of relationship, and want to honor it.

-- Debi

Emergencies Welcome

"EMERGENCIES WELCOME"

I love this sign. It's technically from a dentist's office, I think, but there is something more significant here. Emergencies are inconvenient and painful, a disturbance to everyday life. They add an element of unpredictability. To welcome emergencies is to create hospitable space in a not very hospitable time.

Isn't that who we should be as a church? By definition, much of life is routine -- eating, sleeping, working, and so forth. Love and faithfulness should shine through such routine moments. At the same time, it is right and good to create space in our hearts and minds and schedules for the other moments, too -- bumps in the road that range from inconvenience to crisis.

Emergencies happen. There is certainly no need to manufacture them! But when they come, we can welcome them with God's grace and love.

-- Debi

Paying Attention

Attributed to former baseball great Yogi Berra:

"When you come to a fork in the road, take it."
"Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded."
"The future ain't what it used to be."
"Never answer an anonymous letter."

Much of the charm of such Yogiisms is the mix of truth and foolishness. "You can observe a lot by watching," for example. As we said when I was a kid, "Duh," right? And yet, how much do I miss because I simply was not paying attention? How much is right in front of me, and I fail to notice?

As I move through this day, I will choose to watch, to seek beauty, to appreciate quiet blessings, to notice the people whose paths I cross.

-- Debi

Difficult Words

I just read an article that discloses the game HANGMAN's most difficult word. The word is "jazz". Now before you protest, lety me tell you that a computer tested every word in the English Dictionary. The "j" and "z" are seldom guessed before the noose takes full effect.

This left me wondering about difficult words in other contexts - spelling for example. One of the most often misspelled words is "bellwether." I can see where someone would want to throw in an extra "e" or "a" or "h".

What about difficult words to translate? Bart Wilson writes in Atlantic Monthly, "Did you know that fair is one-to-one untranslatable into any other language–that it is distinctly Anglo in origin? And a relatively new word at that?" He concludes that it is because it has origins in sport and has been carried over into the arena of disputes and complaints.

All this thinking about difficult words brought my mind back to a childhood Sunday School lesson where a King's life turned on one difficult word. "Then Agrippa said unto Paul, 'Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.'" Acts 26:28. Almost? How difficult this must have been for Paul. How difficult it will prove for the king. How difficult "almost" can become for us.

-- Joel

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Friendship

I admit it -- I like Facebook.  I enjoy hearing what is going on in the lives of people I love, seeing photos of their friends and families and fun times, getting the snippets of status updates.  That said, I was challenged recently by something I read through my Leadership Journal (a great publication, by the way) subscription:

"In an article for The Chronicle of Higher Education, William Deresiewicz examines the new forms of friendship that have emerged in the age of Facebook. While social media has allowed us the opportunity to be connected to everyone, it more often than not comes at the expense of deep, meaningful, shaping friendship. Deresiewicz writes:

[Concerning] the moral content of classical friendship, its commitment to virtue and mutual improvement, that … has been lost. We have ceased to believe that a friend's highest purpose is to summon us to the good by offering moral advice and correction. We practice, instead, the nonjudgmental friendship of unconditional acceptance and support—'therapeutic' friendship, [to quote] Robert N. Bellah's scornful term. We seem to be terribly fragile now. A friend fulfills her duty, we suppose, by taking our side—validating our feelings, supporting our decisions, helping us to feel good about ourselves. We tell white lies, make excuses when a friend does something wrong, do what we can to keep the boat steady. We're busy people; we want our friendships fun and friction-free ….

With the social-networking sites of the new century—Friendster and MySpace were launched in 2003, Facebook in 2004—the friendship circle has expanded to engulf the whole of the social world, and in so doing, destroyed both its own nature and that of the individual friendship itself. Facebook's very premise—and promise—is that it makes our friendship circles visible. There they are, my friends, all in the same place. Except, of course, they're not in the same place, or, rather, they're not my friends. They're a [superficial likeness or semblance] of my friends—little dehydrated packets of images and information, no more my friends than a set of baseball cards is the New York Mets ….

Deresiewicz concludes: 'Friendship is devolving, in other words, from a relationship to a feeling—from something people share to something each of us hugs privately to ourselves in the loneliness of our electronic caves.'"

-- Jerry De Luca, Montreal West, Quebec, Canada; source: William Deresiewicz,
"Faux Friendship," The Chronicle of Higher Education (12-6-09)

I'm not planning to give up Facebook anytime soon.  But this reminds me to truly value and nurture genuine, soul-transforming friendship, and not settle for any superficial imitation.

My friends, please know that I am grateful for the unconditional love and support that have been shown to me.  But we must not stop there.  A friendship is only true when we're willing to risk sometimes-scary conversations as we lovingly challenge each other to more fully live according to what we say we believe and value.

-- Debi

Fierce Grace and Mercy

In studying Jonah this week I discovered God's grace pursuing Jonah in a terrifying, life-threatening storm and his mercy in an equally scary fish.  Jonah was on the run, but God pursued him with a storm and used a fish to carry him back to where he started.

This has created a shift in my thinking.  Until now, I thought of mercy and grace in a sort of warm fuzzy way.  I wonder if I have ever failed to see God at work in my life because he was doing it in a fierce way rather than fuzzy.  I'll be more watchful...

- Joel

Learning From the Speechless

I went to the dentist a few weeks back.  In the waiting room was a framed little sign that read something like this:

Blessed are those who converse with the helplessly mute,

for they will be called dentists.

I smiled because I relate.  I've been serving in a chaplaincy role at a VA Medical Center in Salt Lake City.  In the course of my ministry there, I often meet people who have been intubated and cannot speak.  Often they also cannot write, due to immobility or weakness or tremors.  It creates unique challenges, calling for lots of patience and creativity on all sides.

And you know something?  I am indeed blessed in the process.  I am becoming more empathetic; learning to listen better, and to "listen" even when people cannot speak; realizing how many of my words are useless and focusing more on the ones that matter.  I am so very grateful for the many patients who have been teaching me.

-- Debi

Abounding

Pastor Joel asked me this past week to help the children learn a Bible verse: "The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in love" (Psalm 103:8).  My desire is for the knowledge of God's good nature to become planted in their souls and build deep roots there, so we put motion and tone to the words to help it stick.

Of course, this is not just for children, but for youth and adults, too, so I "invited" the congregation to join us in.  Not only did the congregation learn the verse, but participated with enthusiasm and had fun with it.  We put aside our sometimes-serious selves as we played together, supported the kids, and learned from scripture.  I was proud of the good folks at Rosewood Lane.

The choice of Psalm 103:8 was not random, of course.  Pastor Joel preached a great message on the story of Jonah.  If you'd like to hear it again (or hear it for the first time), let me know and I'll create an audio copy for you.

-- Debi

God Multiplies What We Give

In the miracle of the feeding of the 5000, Jesus performed an incredible miracle. It was a miracle that began with a group of people offering to Jesus what they had. None of what they gave was much, but it was critical. The boy gave a possession, his lunch. Andrew, as he has a reputation for doing, brought the boy. The disciples used the food Jesus placed in their hands. The crowd exerted the effort to run around the lake to show up where Jesus would be.

Is there a possession, a relationship, a gift He's given me, or some extra effort that I can give Him in order that He might do something miraculous?

- Joel