The story of the visit of the Magi in Matthew 2:1-12 is very significant. The account challenges us in several ways if we’ll allow it.
Herod professed faith as a Jewish convert, and took this Messiah’s birth extremely seriously, but allowed his personal ambition to trump God’s leadership in his life. Herod sought to kill this Christ as a result.
I wonder if we have the tendency to be at cross-purposes with God, and, blinded by our own agenda, find ourselves actually hindering the Kingdom we profess to desire? Do we squelch what God is doing at times?
The Wise Men, in contrast, didn’t practice the faith in traditional ways, yet got God’s message loud and clear, and took it so seriously as to leave on a months-long journey to see this Christ firsthand.
Are we paying attention to God’s constant communication? Do we allow God to speak as God desires? When we hear, do we care? Do we see the significance as a positive in-breaking of God or something to be feared and squelched?
Their journey was an act of worship, wasn’t it? And when they finally made it to Mary and Joseph’s home in Bethlehem, their extraordinarily generous gifts communicated their adoration and devotion to God. The monetary value was massive, but so was the symbolism – gold for a King, frankincense for a Priest, and myrrh for One who would face death head on. Their worship continued once they rose from their prostration – they continued to heed God’s communication as they went back home – a move that saved Jesus’ life practically before it started.
How do we mimic this holistic worship modeled by the Magi? Do we realize that our journey is itself an opportunity to worship God? Do we still bow down to this Holy God in an era when Jesus has been presented as Best Friend? Do we generously give treasure simply because it honors God as worthy in our what’s-in-it-for-me culture?
How will the world be blessed – and our lives right along with it – is we should dare to learn from these heretics! How many more people would honor Christ as well! How much stronger and healthier the Kingdom would be if we were so sensitive to the Holy Spirit as were these very wise men…
As you enter 2008, may you see and hear and feel and know God’s voice, and heed it. May you worship God with your very journey – your way of life. May you generously proclaim Christ as the King with your treasure. May your bowing down before this King cause others to do the same, and walk in Magi ways with you.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Sunday, December 23, 2007
The Good News Continuum
Just try to imagine what Joseph and Mary went through to do their part in bringing Christ into the world. Their experience was the very definition of paradox – an incredible blessing was being offered them in this holy invitation, yet with it came requisite struggle.
Who more than Joseph and Mary got to experience Jesus more intimately? What an incredible privilege for both of them! What a gift they received! What a gift the world received through them! We all want our lives to mean something – Joseph and Mary really did save the world by bring in the very embodiment of Salvation. Wouldn’t you like to see through their eyes and feel with their hearts their experience of raising Jesus?
But in accepting this holy invitation, this very good news, they had to face serious challenges. Everything was put on the line – they were gambling with their lives that they were hearing God correctly, that God would be faithful, and that it was worth all they had to offer. Their social identity was going to radically shift – they were no longer who they had been in their own eyes as well as in the gaze of the public. They certainly endured financial sacrifice – did Joseph’s business get thin when he chose to stay by Mary’s side? Was Mary’s family affected economically by her unusual pregnancy? What kind of stress did they undergo even as they basked in the full meaning of the Good News that came their way?
An angel (messenger) came from God to give them comfort, to relieve their fears, to reassure them of the Truth, to guide them along their way, and to reaffirm what God was trying to orchestrate with this Holy Birth. I bet they remembered those visitations! I bet it helped them celebrate higher, and I bet it helped them when they were feeling their lowest. I bet it helped them get through with hope in spite of certain difficulties.
We see ourselves in these characters, don’t we? I think we live out these unique roles simultaneously throughout our lives.
The Apostle Paul, formerly called by Saul (Hebrew version of the Greek Paul), was once the recipient of a holy invitation to be a champion proclaimer of the Good News of Christ. It caused great stress. But he wasn't simply a receiver of something - 2/3 of the New Testament gives witness to his other role – bringing words of comfort, direction, inspiration, explanation, and motivation to communities of Christ followers who had themselves received holy invitations to receive and live out the Good News. Paul was like an angel to them as they struggled to live transformed lives in the Way of Christ.
In Romans 1:5, Paul reminds us of our holy invitation: we have been given the privilege and authority as apostles to tell [everyone] everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him (God), bring glory to his name.
My friends, the Good News is an invitation for you to receive. It’s the best news you can receive for your life, your dreams, your relationships, your work, your future. But to embrace the invitation invites change, transformed minds, new identity, new behavior, new priorities – all of which are difficult and will challenge you to your core. Hear the words of the angel: do not be afraid! God will prevail, your life will be well spent, and your impact will bless many others. Accept this Good News, this Holy Invitation!
Some of you need to exercise your angelic role right now. There are people around you who desperately need to hear the Good News that God loves them, wants the best for their life, and will guide them to it. They need you, and God has given you the privilege and authority to communicate this Good News to them. You may be exactly who and what they need – right now – to get through, to keep going, to take the leap of faith, to live in radical obedience to Christ, to change the world.
May you reflect deeply on your place along this continuum of struggling dreamer to Good News messenger. May you take comfort as you face certain challenges along the Way to the life God has for you. May you be comfort to those who are struggling with the living out of the Good News given them through their Holy Invitation. Merry Christmas!
Who more than Joseph and Mary got to experience Jesus more intimately? What an incredible privilege for both of them! What a gift they received! What a gift the world received through them! We all want our lives to mean something – Joseph and Mary really did save the world by bring in the very embodiment of Salvation. Wouldn’t you like to see through their eyes and feel with their hearts their experience of raising Jesus?
But in accepting this holy invitation, this very good news, they had to face serious challenges. Everything was put on the line – they were gambling with their lives that they were hearing God correctly, that God would be faithful, and that it was worth all they had to offer. Their social identity was going to radically shift – they were no longer who they had been in their own eyes as well as in the gaze of the public. They certainly endured financial sacrifice – did Joseph’s business get thin when he chose to stay by Mary’s side? Was Mary’s family affected economically by her unusual pregnancy? What kind of stress did they undergo even as they basked in the full meaning of the Good News that came their way?
An angel (messenger) came from God to give them comfort, to relieve their fears, to reassure them of the Truth, to guide them along their way, and to reaffirm what God was trying to orchestrate with this Holy Birth. I bet they remembered those visitations! I bet it helped them celebrate higher, and I bet it helped them when they were feeling their lowest. I bet it helped them get through with hope in spite of certain difficulties.
We see ourselves in these characters, don’t we? I think we live out these unique roles simultaneously throughout our lives.
The Apostle Paul, formerly called by Saul (Hebrew version of the Greek Paul), was once the recipient of a holy invitation to be a champion proclaimer of the Good News of Christ. It caused great stress. But he wasn't simply a receiver of something - 2/3 of the New Testament gives witness to his other role – bringing words of comfort, direction, inspiration, explanation, and motivation to communities of Christ followers who had themselves received holy invitations to receive and live out the Good News. Paul was like an angel to them as they struggled to live transformed lives in the Way of Christ.
In Romans 1:5, Paul reminds us of our holy invitation: we have been given the privilege and authority as apostles to tell [everyone] everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him (God), bring glory to his name.
My friends, the Good News is an invitation for you to receive. It’s the best news you can receive for your life, your dreams, your relationships, your work, your future. But to embrace the invitation invites change, transformed minds, new identity, new behavior, new priorities – all of which are difficult and will challenge you to your core. Hear the words of the angel: do not be afraid! God will prevail, your life will be well spent, and your impact will bless many others. Accept this Good News, this Holy Invitation!
Some of you need to exercise your angelic role right now. There are people around you who desperately need to hear the Good News that God loves them, wants the best for their life, and will guide them to it. They need you, and God has given you the privilege and authority to communicate this Good News to them. You may be exactly who and what they need – right now – to get through, to keep going, to take the leap of faith, to live in radical obedience to Christ, to change the world.
May you reflect deeply on your place along this continuum of struggling dreamer to Good News messenger. May you take comfort as you face certain challenges along the Way to the life God has for you. May you be comfort to those who are struggling with the living out of the Good News given them through their Holy Invitation. Merry Christmas!
Saturday, December 15, 2007
No Easy Delivery
The first week of Advent, we began thinking about Mary and Joseph through the lens of Jesus’ teaching about the Kingdom coming unexpectedly. In order for them to be bring in the King as best they could required them to acquire a new identity, new behaviors, and new stuff. Even with all of this in place, they were still overwhelmed, no doubt, by how Jesus came into their lives. How’s your identity coming along as a modern day Mary or Joseph? What behaviors do you sense God calling you to drop for the sake of the Kingdom? What behaviors are you being asked to adopt? How about what you spend your resources on – where does you time and money go – are they driven by the Kingdom?
Last week we continued thinking about Mary and Joseph, but this time contrasting them with the Pharisees and Sadducees whom John condemned. The point? Be humble in your walk with God, because the Jewish religious leaders were certain that they were more prepared than anybody for the coming Messiah. They not only missed the Christ, they killed him! Mary and Joseph had no choice but to walk in humility, which made them the perfect vessels to bring the King into the world. How’s your humility factor? How are you making sure others don’t identify you as a Pharisee-type?
This week, we continue to place ourselves in Mary and Joseph’s shoes as we hear a question coming from John to Jesus – are you sure you’re the One? The reality is that for Mary and Joseph there was no script. John thought he had a pretty good handle on it, only to find out that he wasn’t quite on the same page with God. Much of our walk with God is unfamiliar – which is how it should be.
Jesus, empathizing with John’s pain, did give him encouragement. Rather than simply telling John’s disciples, “Yup – I’m the Messiah,” Jesus focused everyone’s attention toward Christo-praxis – Jesus’ practices were all pointing to his identity much more effectively than a theological treatise ever could. Blind people were seeing, deaf people were hearing, lepers were cleansed, the lame were walking, dead people were being raised to life, and the poor were receiving hope. All of these things told John and the rest of the world that Jesus was Who He said He was.
When we deliver these same things, the world believes in this Jesus.
It’s not an easy delivery, though. The world likes it when we deliver on these (mostly), but there is not a lot of cultural support for it.
Just recall that it was no easy delivery for Mary and Joseph, either. Unfamiliar territory. They knew what they needed to do, and where they needed to go, and they did it. And we’re here because of it. And now we get the honor - to deliver the King to the world - which hasn’t gotten any easier...
Delivery via speaking and being Truth to those in your proximity. Delivery via Deborah’s House. Delivery via generously dispersing grace for all people in Napa. Delivery from the death sentence of HIV/AIDS and all of its implications in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya. Delivery by proclaiming good news to all, even using words, if necessary.
You’ve got a delivery to make. It won’t be easy, and probably won’t feel safe. But it will change the world.
Shalom!
Last week we continued thinking about Mary and Joseph, but this time contrasting them with the Pharisees and Sadducees whom John condemned. The point? Be humble in your walk with God, because the Jewish religious leaders were certain that they were more prepared than anybody for the coming Messiah. They not only missed the Christ, they killed him! Mary and Joseph had no choice but to walk in humility, which made them the perfect vessels to bring the King into the world. How’s your humility factor? How are you making sure others don’t identify you as a Pharisee-type?
This week, we continue to place ourselves in Mary and Joseph’s shoes as we hear a question coming from John to Jesus – are you sure you’re the One? The reality is that for Mary and Joseph there was no script. John thought he had a pretty good handle on it, only to find out that he wasn’t quite on the same page with God. Much of our walk with God is unfamiliar – which is how it should be.
Jesus, empathizing with John’s pain, did give him encouragement. Rather than simply telling John’s disciples, “Yup – I’m the Messiah,” Jesus focused everyone’s attention toward Christo-praxis – Jesus’ practices were all pointing to his identity much more effectively than a theological treatise ever could. Blind people were seeing, deaf people were hearing, lepers were cleansed, the lame were walking, dead people were being raised to life, and the poor were receiving hope. All of these things told John and the rest of the world that Jesus was Who He said He was.
When we deliver these same things, the world believes in this Jesus.
It’s not an easy delivery, though. The world likes it when we deliver on these (mostly), but there is not a lot of cultural support for it.
Just recall that it was no easy delivery for Mary and Joseph, either. Unfamiliar territory. They knew what they needed to do, and where they needed to go, and they did it. And we’re here because of it. And now we get the honor - to deliver the King to the world - which hasn’t gotten any easier...
Delivery via speaking and being Truth to those in your proximity. Delivery via Deborah’s House. Delivery via generously dispersing grace for all people in Napa. Delivery from the death sentence of HIV/AIDS and all of its implications in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya. Delivery by proclaiming good news to all, even using words, if necessary.
You’ve got a delivery to make. It won’t be easy, and probably won’t feel safe. But it will change the world.
Shalom!
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