Sabbatical starts...

I guess the title is not correct as our sabbatical is well under way but this is perhaps the first chance I have had to consider the past few weeks. Its been full without a doubt! After a cup of 'smoking bishop' with good friends we were off to Mexico with Shonet's family, 7 days in the Cancun area. Here are some thoughts from that week: 

Mexico

December 30-January 6

1. Church community needed and missed
2. Paradise on earth is not necessarily paradise 
3. Serving the weak and vulnerable is hard
4. 1 Timothy 1:5 “The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart, a clear conscience and a sincere faith.” 

1. Church Community needed and missed. As much as travelling to an all inclusive resort had its perks—no dishes, no cooking, no snow!, there were many more important aspects that were missing. Having travelled to and lived with the local church in isolated areas, I knew what it was like to have a community care for you and be generous with no money attached...to enjoy the lingering conversation with a family over a cup of tea and to share in the inside jokes of the land. To be with Christians who do not share a common language but share a common Father is a taste of heaven to be cherished. In our week in Mexico we needed to visit the doctor on the resort a couple times (my boys!), and eventually ended up in the hospital in Playa De Carman (Anthony!). A credit card speaks loud and clear in an area that has plenty of financial motivation, but in moments of uncertainty and fear it was the Christian community I really missed, the community that lives out Galatians 6:2 “Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Nothing replaces that. And though it was a very beautiful place, I missed the beauty of the Christian community.  
2. Paradise on earth is not necessarily paradise. I had always dreamed of going to an all inclusive resort but growing up somewhat poor (from a western stand point) and being in ministry always felt like this dream was out of reach. But when Shonet’s mother offered to take the family as a last trip due to health issues I looked forward to the ‘living with ease’ dream. Don’t get me wrong as I mentioned above there were plenty of great things there and we would enjoy going back if we got the chance. But the lie is that this kind of week is ‘heaven on earth’, but its so not. Jesus said life is realized and achieved not when we accumulate and fill ourselves or even achieve our greatest dreams but when we are emptied for others and are expended for the poor. I watched many others fill themselves with sun, drink and food till they swelled...but we all got on the plane and went home back to our lives. It was ironic that no applauded when we landed in Winnipeg. These are great weeks if you get them, but don't be bedazzled into believing this is the best life can get...there is plenty more enriching experiences than this. Enjoy it but leave it where it belongs--fantasy. 
3. Serving the weak and vulnerable is hard. For most of the week my dear wife was a nurse to her mother who was diagnosed with an early onset form of dementia that has run rampant. In fact caring for her mother has characterized much of the first part of our sabbatical (more on that later). But though we were in a lovely place, grandma needed care every half hour…changing the pace and expectations of the week. We believe she had a good time-Pina Coladas and all, but if you are a caregiver of someone then you understand the toll that can take. With Shonet caring for her mom, I was delighted to hang out with our 3 amazing kids, even though we got to know the doctor on a first name basis, they still found the humour and joy of the adventure. Kids are more resilient than adults. Faith and joy comes quicker to them. Its no wonder that Jesus recommends those who seek power in this world to study children. 
4. 1 Timothy 1:5 “The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart, a clear conscience and a sincere faith.” This was perhaps the only verse I really meditated on the entire week, it popped out to me from a book I was reading by David Powlison on sanctification (how does God change us?). The simple clarity of this verse was what I needed. Sometimes I just need clear direction—the aim of my charge is love...that issues from a pure heart (not tainted to love other things)...a clear conscience (any regrets, any dark hidden secrets?) and a sincere faith (how's that doubt problem?). It took all week to think on that. 
   

Discipleship

As we begin a new series here at EMBC we're focusing on the subject of discipleship.  I like what Tony Payne and Colin Marshall say about discipleship in their book, 'The Vine Project'--they talk about us Christians as 'learners', learning the way of Jesus:

"What the ‘learners’ were learning from Jesus was a way of life based on an understanding of certain truths about reality.  The goal was for them not only to know what their teacher knew, but also to be like their teacher, to walk in his ways.  They weren’t learning a subject; they were learning a person, if we can put it like that—his knowledge, his wisdom, his whole way of life…Jesus wanted his learners (disciples) to walk with him, and to learn to be like him.  But the significance of following Jesus goes deeper than that in the Gospels, because of who Jesus was and where his ‘learners’ were following him to.  Jesus repeatedly tells people that following him is an exclusive, life and death commitment.  To go with him means to leave everything else behind, including your very life…to ‘learn’ Jesus—to submit yourself to his teaching, to walk in his ways—will mean leaving behind all your current loyalties and commitments.  It will mean walking the road to Jerusalem with him, and facing up to the cross that is waiting there.  As Jesus makes very clear, saving our old life is not an option; its only by losing our lives that we save them”

Colin Marshall and Tony Payne

To be pitied

In the aftermath of Jesus' death, the disciples were required by Jewish law to do nothing, it was the Sabbath, a day of rest.  The day that Jesus is crucified was waining on, after a hasty burial preparation, Jesus is laid in a nearby tomb and a stone is rolled over the place, with expectation that his followers would finish the preparation for burial once the Sabbath was over.  And now they were to rest.  But how did they rest when they are grieved so deeply?  How does anyone rest in sadness, when all hope is drained, when life does not make sense...how does one rest at that point?  The body can stop moving, chores can remain undone and work stands still, but does the mind and the soul stop feeling and thinking?
The appearance of Mary at the tomb early on the 3rd day (John 20) tells the story that she was crying, a wailing kind of cry--deep guttural soul cry; the other gospels tell us that the disciples are hiding and afraid.  So you have a day of rest, and yet they are stuck in grief, fear and shock.  We who have had the luxury of knowing the 'end of the story' may not have much compassion for these followers, because we know that in a day their grief will turn to joy!
But what I suspect made that day so painful was they did not remember or believe Jesus when he told them (at last count 3 times!) that he would rise again on the 3rd day.  They were thinking of going back to their previous way of life, melting back into society and trying to forget the past 3 years.  That's if there was no resurrection.
The picture that is given of the disciples on that dark Sabbath, is what Paul discusses in his epic chapter of the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15.  He says there that if there is no resurrection then we have every reason to despair, we should grieve and be dumbfounded because we are stuck in our sins, stuck with this broken life with little hope.  In fact, he makes it very clear: "If we have put our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone." 1 Cor. 15:19  The disciples are a pitiful group that day of waiting...but oh, it will change in just a day.  Their lives will change, history will shift, grief turns to joy, guilt to grace and death to life...if only we could have whispered it to them and bring them out of that cloud.  But, I suppose only meeting Jesus will draw back the curtain they were under, only meeting Jesus takes the sting out of death.

Sowing to the Flesh

March 19, 2018

After yesterday's sermon a number of fine folk had asked me to post up John Stott's quote on sowing to the flesh...so here's his remarks:

"To ‘sow to the flesh’ is to pander to it, to cosset, cuddle and stroke it, instead of crucifying it.  The seeds we sow are largely thoughts and deeds.  Every time we allow our mind to harbour a grudge, nurse a grievance, entertain an impure fantasy, or wallow in self-pity, we are sowing to the flesh.  Every time we linger in bad company whose insidious influence we know we cannot resist, every time we lie in bed when we ought to be up and praying, every time we read (gaze) at pornographic literature, every time we take a risk which strains our self-control, we are sowing, sowing, sowing to the flesh.  Some Christians sow to the flesh every day and wonder why they do not reap holiness. Holiness is a harvest; whether we reap it or not depends almost entirely on what and where we sow.”

I will add on his follow up comments (which didn't make it into the message):

"Paul distinguishes between the two harvests as well as between the two sowings. The results are only logical. If we sow to the flesh; we shall 'from the flesh reap corruption'. That is, a process of moral decay will set in. We shall go from bad to worse until we finally perish. If, on the other hand, we sow to the Spirit, we shall 'from the Spirit reap eternal life'. That is, a process of moral and spiritual growth will begin. Communion with God (which is eternal life) will develop now until in eternity it becomes perfect. Therefore, if we want to reap a harvest of holiness, our duty is twofold.  First, we must avoid sowing to the flesh, and secondly we must keep sowing to the Spirit.  We must ruthlessly eliminate the first and concentrate our time and energies on the second. It is another way of saying (as in Gal.5) that we must 'crucify the flesh' and 'walk by the Spirit. There is no other way of growing in holiness."

This is part of 'The Bible Speaks Today' commentary series, published in the late 60's--still relevant to today.  I'm very grateful for the work of John Stott over the years, his words sometimes sting but wounds from a friend are trustworthy.

December 24

Little things.

It was the collision of my experience from India to the cold embrace of an early Winnipeg winter that fuelled the idea for this blog.  I was going from Curry to CandyCanes (TM) much faster than I expected and had put in my mind to write daily about advent as a means to prepare for the event of Christmas itself.  I'm not sure what I was expecting and I wasn't able to write everyday but when I missed a day I missed trying to capture the little moment that God had set aside for me that day.  And perhaps that was what surprised me the most in this little venture was how God often spoke, encouraged and shed light on something through the little things in life.  Normal things, experiences of each day that I pass by, I simply miss miracles and stories that God has set aside for us to notice.  The frustrations of a leaky rink, a flopsy mattress and a slow moving train became moments that could be unpacked, observed and digested as though they were real physical items...gifts packaged only for me...but I had a choice to open or reject it.  Perhaps one of the gifts I gained this advent was that each moment of the day, God is at work, God is drawing us to Himself, God is pleased to reveal Himself afresh.  He does not slumber, he does not sleep (Psalm 121), I began to see in the writing of this blog that days, weeks and months are not to 'get through', not to arrive at some magical moment (like Christmas morning), but actually each hour God has set aside something quite remarkable.  Can we see it?  Can we take the time for it?  A smile, a kind answer, an engine that starts on a cold morning, a friends' unexpected phone call, the sound of the church singing rich carols.  The list can go on, but perhaps in my writing of this you can consider the little things that God puts in your life simply to bless you, to remind you that He loves you, that he cares for you and is preparing a home for you.  I'm often drawn to where the big things and moments are, thinking anything small and 'ordinary' is not worth my time.  But what if life was not a journey simply to get to the end, what if each minute was an exploration to see what God has packaged for you, like a scavenger hunt with clues and riddles...seems kind of mischievous of God to do that doesn't it?   I'm quite sure that as Christmas moves on, I will move on as well to bigger and busier things...and will drive past the little things God has set aside for me.  I hope not.  Life seems more pleasant, even holy when I see him actively involved.  Perhaps the word, Emmanuel (God with us) is a title I use only when times are really tough, or confusing, but I fail to see Emmanuel in the little things, but it seems this past month for me at least God has been alive, bearing fruit even bursting the seams of the little things to squeeze life into my soul each drop of the way.  Just to be clear, I'm not drifting into some mystical avenue, Scripture stayed the main diet and light for the path, in fact scripture when read slowly with the expectation that God has something afresh for today became real food for the soul.  And it gave light to the experiences I was having, helped me remain humble when my kid laughs at me, or when I could not see my way through a tough turn.  God so graciously gives us His Word, alive, active, sharper than a two edged sword!
Merry Christmas to you, thank you for reading, I trust this was somewhat encouraging.  I'm not sure if I will write much more or what project will be on my mind but I will keep this blog up to post new thoughts along the way.  Let me close from a quote from a friend of mine who wrote recently, quoting Buechner:

“I never heard a tall tale I’d sooner have true than that tale. 

How the Light of the World come into the darkest night ...

so there’d never be cause to fear darkness again" - Frederick Buechner 
             
            wishing​ ​light to you and yours this Christmastide​ ...​

December 23

Isaiah 61.

This is the text that Jesus reads at the inauguration of his ministry, an open statement that this is what he is about and why he came:

"The Spirit of the Lord God is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and freedom to the prisoners;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
and the day of our God’s vengeance;
to comfort all who mourn,
to provide for those who mourn in Zion;
to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
festive oil instead of mourning,
and splendid clothes instead of despair.
And they will be called righteous trees,
planted by the Lord
to glorify him."

Isaiah 61:1-3

This night, before the eve of Christmas read these 3 simple verses again.  Look carefully at what Jesus was coming to do, can you see a need in your life for his work?  Where are you at tonight?  Do you need good news?  Do you hope that your heart might indeed heal from its dark wounds? That  chains to habitual sin would be broken?  To hear words of hope...that this year will be full of the Lord's favour?  Comfort?  Honour?  Shame taken away?  That joy might replace mourning?  Despair wiped clean and replaced with a life clothed with purpose?  To belong, to be known and to be given a purpose  by the Lord...to glorify him?  This is what Jesus came for, made possible through his blood and his sacrifice, but this passage is deeply personal and relevant to anyone who has longed for God's hand to work on their behalf.  Take a moment, read the verses again but this time prayerfully ask the Lord to do his great work in your soul, this day, this night, this season...so that you might again experience what it is like to be planted by Him to glorify Him!

December 21

Final Preparations.

Inevitably you have been asked, or will be asked...or perhaps have asked the question of the season:  "Are you ready for Christmas?"  It usually insinuates...have you bought all the gifts you need to buy, is your house ready for guests, do you have food in the fridge and baking in the freezer...something like that.  I was reminded today that the early church did not celebrate Christmas, but rather celebrated Epiphany, the start of Jesus' public ministry.  In that case, John the baptist came along as "A voice of one crying out in the wilderness:  Make straight the way of the Lord--Just as Isaiah the prophet said."  John 1:23.  He's not talking about paving roads, but getting our lives ready to meet our Maker.  In essence he was calling out to the crowds--are you ready to meet the Messiah?  Are you ready for what he is about to say and do?  Are you ready to serve him as your king?  Steve Bell wrote in an advent song, 'Ready my heart for the birth of Emmanuel', echoing what John is asking the people to do.  Get ready!  Some of us are going into the weekend about to run ragged from children's activities, family events, last minute shopping and church events...all good, but these are not the means by which we get ourselves ready for the Lord.  My son lamented the other day that he does not feel the Christmas spirit (he's only 9!), somehow we and the world have convinced him that he should feel a certain mood to experience Christmas and get the most out of it.  But John the baptist is not after a mood, but rather a heart attitude--a recognition that at the coming of Jesus we are in the presence of the divine, listen to his view of Jesus, "He is the One coming after me, whose sandal strap I'm not worthy to untie."  John 1:27.  If you are after a mood today you'll get disappointed as easily as your hot chocolate gets cold.  The hearts that Jesus came to were the ones ready in humility, ready to receive Jesus as Lord, master and maker.  The ones who humbly asked for help and forgiveness, for mercy and for wisdom, the ones who recognized their brokenness.  But the ones who spent their lives preparing the outside of their lives were the ones who did not recognize him when he came, they spent their lives worrying about the periphery stuff (how they look in public, religious duties, following laws instead of loving people) and in the end, these were the ones who had Jesus crucified.   But who does the Son of God come to:  the humble, the lowly who recognize their need of him, and these were the ones He was willing to call children, even friends:  John 1:10-13 "He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God."  Lets get ready for sure, but lets get ready by receiving him, by making straight roads in our lives through obedience, confession and even repentance.  These are the marks of the season, far more eternal than tinsel and gingerbread.