Pentecost and Babel

In honor of Pentecost Sunday tomorrow, I thought I would post an unique message I wrote a few years back.

Pentecost and Babel (Genesis 11 & Acts 2)
Think about the events surrounding the first Pentecost, and let’s look how it fits in the story of the Bible, God’s story—the story of Redemption. All the way back in the beginning, God created human beings in relationship to himself—in Eden, we see a picture of humanity at ease with God, close to him and one another, in a place of their own where they belonged… and it was good. When sin entered the world, God cast them from their home, sent them away from himself and began to tear them apart from one another. The good that was God’s image within his creation was marred and broken—we see this in Cain and Abel, in the evil during Noah’s days, and in the tower of Babel story. But in Genesis chapter 12 in the story of Abraham, God begins the work of redeeming his people, restoring what was lost, the beginning of bringing his prodigal sons and daughters back into the family.

In this story of God’s redemption of humanity, Abraham is the beginning of God fixing the problem and Jesus is the climax (and of course, the great wedding banquet in heaven is the final resolution). So what you have is a kind of roller coaster movement… it starts up with Eden, goes down with the Fall, begins to ascend again with Abraham, peaks with Jesus and resolves toward the restored kingdom at the Day of the Lord. So now at Pentecost we begin to see God working things out, the beginnings of the restoration, the reversal of the curses enacted at the Fall.

If you have studied literature to any extent, one thing you would be taught is to pay special attention to foreshadowing and mirroring in the texts because they bring fuller meaning to what is being said. This happens all the time in Scripture, too. God indeed is the Great Storyteller. The big theme is the curse and its effects and then the redemption—the reversal of the curses—and its effect. People, place, presence taken then restored. God’s image taken away and then restored in us.

But I want us to look particularly at two stories of two communities: Babel and Pentecost. Babel is the last story before the beginning of redemption and Pentecost is the first story after the climax of redemption in Jesus… immediately before the upturn and immediately after the downturn… the perfect spot that you might expect to see some parallels.

In Babel, the evil of mankind had grown and grown, their focus had moved away from God and completely on themselves (v.3-4). They had replaced the worship of the Lord with worshipping themselves and their own greatness. On Pentecost, however, we see a community that was amazingly selfless (v.42-47). Their focus was not on themselves but on God.

Again, in Babel, we see a people building a great tower so as to “reach the heavens,” essentially trying to achieve through their own strength a place with God. You see here humans working upward to God. But with Pentecost, you see God reaching down, entering into humanity’s lowliness. Men and women confessed their weakness and need and God gave himself to them there (v.37-38).

And what was the curse of Babel? What was God’s judgment on their self-centeredness and seeking achievement? Disunity through confused language (v.6-8). Ever since Babel, humanity has been cursed to live separated from one another, primarily by language—but more than that—by a failure to be on the same page and to have a singular purpose.

What happened at Pentecost? I admit there’s a lot about the Holy Spirit evidenced by tongues that I don’t understand, but could it be that Pentecost was an indication of God’s redemption, beginning to reverse the curse proclaimed at Babel? What do we see with this early community of believers? Not just understanding each others’ languages, but the restoration of unity, the beginning of real fellowship and community, living lives together with a single purpose… “All the believers were together and had everything in common…” (v.44-47).

So what does this mean for me? Are you living together with other believers? What is keeping you at a distance from real fellowship and community? Have you allowed all of God’s redeeming grace to work in your life? Have you allowed him to save your soul without letting him repair your relationships with others? Think of the community we could be by living in unity!

Listen to what God says about this kind of unity: “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.” God wants to make us great and empower us—not for our own glory and not to attain a place with God—but in humility and by God’s Spirit we could make a huge impact for the kingdom of God right here. If what we celebrate at Pentecost is the birth of the church, what does this say about what church should be? I guess it means that church is a community of selfless people where God has come and, therefore, shares in real unity and fellowship with one another.

I love the story of God. Because Jesus has come and died and lives again, God has begun to restore us to his family and is making that family whole once again. Won’t you be a part of that story with me?

Lent

As a typical Baptist, I don't usually do Lent very well. It has always seemed a little too stuffy, religious and legalistic to me (as most traditions do). But over the years I have slowly come around.

This year has been significantly different already. This is the first year that I received ashes on my forehead. The Ash Wednesday service at the Episcopal church was beautiful and meaningful, but I was still very aware how out-of-place and uncomfortable I was with it all. Nevertheless, I was glad to be connected to something that Christians all over the world were a part of.

Then there is the commonly observed practice of giving up something for Lent. It is meant to be a time of self-denial and repentance (which in it's true form indicates a change of behavior) that leads to the Cross of Good Friday and the Empty Tomb of Resurrection Sunday. So with a fairly honest assessment of my life, I committed to drinking only water for 40 days. Giving up soft drinks (of which I typically consume several each day) was the big one, but it includes everything else, too. It may be healthy, but it is not meant to be a diet or for health reasons; it is meant to set me free from something in my life that has been addicting. I cannot allow anything in my life to compete with Jesus for control over it.

Another part of Lent this year is our church's emphasis on listening through the New Testament together. We have been encouraging the congregation to join us each day in listening to a few chapters of an audio version of the New Testament. I have to admit, after trying out the material we were distributing, I went back to my old copy of The Bible Experience audio Bible because it is so much better of a dramatic reading. I'm now in the first few chapters of Luke, and this has been a really nice part of this season as well.

Finally, thanks to a link on a friend's blog, I found Mars Hill Bible Church's Lent 2010 experiential calendar. This calendar is set up so that on each of the 40 days I will participate in an activity that challenges me and stretches me to grow toward Christ and his love. This includes activities like doing something you've been putting off or making a phone call to someone you've had a falling out with or shoveling snow from a neighbor's driveway or fasting from food or technology or music. I like that it helps Lent to be about more than just giving up something for a duration of time, but it also adds in spiritual exercises to your life in a wide variety of areas.

The funny thing about this season of Lent is how these added observances have bumped up against my regular life. The ashes coincided with a youth mission project, which helped me reflect on serving others as a proper response to repentance from self-centeredness. The audio Bible listening has been mixed in with a variety of activities throughout my day. The nothing-but-water fast creates tension whenever I go to the refrigerator or out to eat. My experiences from the Lent calendar are not always convenient with my day-to-day schedule so I have to find ways to make it work.

Tomorrow I'm headed to the Simply Youth Ministry Conference in Chicago, and I'm going to be thinking and talking a lot about youth ministry. I'm hopeful that my deeper observance of Lent this year will also pay off in a fuller understanding of ministry as I reflect and study it together with some other great youth leaders. (Btw, I'm planning on blogging from there this weekend, too... or you can follow me on twitter.)

a hard funeral revisited

A few weeks ago, I was asked to perform a funeral service for a man who was only four months older than me, who left behind a wife of 2 years and a step-daughter and a one-year old son. Though I don't know all the details, he apparently had a secret drug problem he kept hidden from his friends and family and died as a result of an overdose. Tragic and awful... and I had the task of saying something at the funeral to help bring comfort and make sense of it all.

This past Thursday, there was another tragic death. This time a twelve-year old boy from my church. Needless to say, I'm really struggling trying to deal with this one. My heart aches for everyone involved. I guess I just want to share some of the remarks that I offered at the funeral a few weeks ago:

If you’re familiar with the Lord’s Prayer, would you pray it together with me this afternoon?

Part of this prayer of Jesus that sticks with me today is “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” With the death of Chris, a lot of us here are thinking about heaven, this place that our imagination tries to picture—free from pain and tears and hurt and sin, a place filled with God and with those who have been transformed by Jesus—a place that is now reality for Chris.

But what Jesus says that we should pray for in this prayer is that we would live the life of heaven here on earth now. And that’s the problem, right? Our lives sometimes look nothing like heaven. We are broken people… splintered, misshapen, fractured, spinning off in the wrong direction, cracked, shattered, distorted, crushed. In all the ways we can describe it, broken.

Not that there isn’t beauty and love and hope, but alongside it is brokenness. This was certainly true for Chris. Even with his sweet wife, and his adoring kids, even with his supportive family and loving friends, he was still a broken person. And if you and I were to sit down together, I know many of you here this morning could tell me about your brokenness. Relationships splintered—we’re often either getting beat up, or ignoring someone else’s pain, or maybe even the one causing the pain. Sometimes our brokenness is internal. Maybe you sense it within yourself most deeply. Look at our splintered hearts, our crushed minds, our cracked spirits. It’s the inward brokenness of guilt, shame, over-obsession and insecurity.

What about our relationship with God? Maybe for you it is torn apart, cracked, misshapen. God wants to come close to us, and we push him away. God wants to come into our lives, and we crowd him out. God wants to show us the best possible way to live, and we refuse to even listen. We fail to love and obey him, and we find our relationship with God shattered.

It’s not a mistake that at the beginning of the story of Jesus, the first message of God to humans was “peace on earth.” Remember the Christmas story and the angels announcing peace to the shepherds? In the Bible, the word “peace” literally means… to put back together, to put back in, to restore as it was originally intended to be, to bring fulfillment. This is what the angels were so excited about. “Peace on earth!” They were announcing the peace of God on all the earth.

Whatever else you think Jesus is about, I want you to know this: God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to begin the process of putting back together what is broken in us.

In the beginning of creation, the Bible tells us that God created us in his image and his dream for us was to live unbroken lives with him forever, but, when sin quickly came, that image was broken. God’s intention for creation was distorted. But God wants to restore what was broken, he wants to put back in what was lost. God has not given up on his dream for the world. And the coming of Jesus signals the restoration.

So Jesus, who is known as the Prince of Peace, his life means that our shattered lives can be put back together like new—better than new! God takes the pieces of our lives that are broken and splintered and shattered and miraculously reunites them. He takes our crushed relationships with others, within ourselves and with him, and fuses the pieces back together.

Through Jesus, God is restoring his people. He longs to take your pieces—all the junk in your life—and make you whole, without cracks, without splinters, without defect. Look at your life… do you think this is the way God intended for it to be? I know some of you could look at shards of glass and say, “that’s me.” You need to know your life was meant to be so much more than all this junk. I believe this isn’t all there is.

I’ve seen God put back together some of the broken pieces in my own life. Several years ago, I struggled through some depression… maybe not as severe as what maybe some of you are dealing with. But I know what it is like to feel like there’s something messed up and broken in my mind and find help and healing and to cling to the hope that God did not give up on me.

I think Chris’ family would really want you to hear this: If you’re here and struggling with some junk in your life, please get help. It’s okay if you’re not religious, but as one who has experienced it, I know that God can do a miracle in your life and make you whole. At the point you turn your life over to him, he will begin to heal the fractures and make your life into the life he always dreamed for it to be. It won’t always be easy; healing never is. But it’s worth it.

Now if you’re here and God has made a difference in your life, I need you to hear this: God is looking for partners. God’s renewal and restoration in your life is an invitation to join him in sharing the peace of God with other people. God is looking for men and women who will seek out those who are broken and cracked and help them to find wholeness. He wants to restore the world through you. Don’t be selfish: you were not saved simply for your own well-being, he wants you to be a part of his work in other people’s lives, too. God wants you to be the healing in their life, get your hands dirty—you be the remedy.

In a way, this is sort of like what my wife and I recently experienced. You see, we returned one year ago from adopting our daughter, Kate, from China. We already have two biological sons, and we could have said to ourselves, “thanks God for giving us a great family.” But, no, we saw so many orphans around the world without a family—huge brokenness—and felt that part of God’s calling in our lives was to reclaim one life out of that brokenness and be her forever family. At times it’s been hard, but we love our daughter so much and are so proud to be her parents.

Here’s what I need you to do this afternoon. 1. I want you right now to turn to the person next you and tell them, “This isn’t all there is.” Take a second to do that now. 2. I challenge you to be there for this precious family that Chris left behind, not only now, but down the road, too. Send cards, give hugs. In a few years, Elizabeth is going to need driving lessons… and I sure hope she doesn’t get them from her mom.

Let me end with this paraphrase of Hebrews 13:

“May God, who puts all things together, makes all things whole, Who made a lasting mark through the sacrifice of Jesus, the sacrifice of blood that sealed the eternal covenant, Who led Jesus, our Great Shepherd, up and alive from the dead, Now put you together, provide you with everything you need to please him, Make us into what gives him most pleasure, by means of the sacrifice of Jesus, the Messiah. All glory to Jesus forever and always!”

Live the life of heaven now.

creativity and prophetic imagination

After all these years with Jesus, I think that sometimes what recaptures my heart and thoughts is the creativity, beauty and imagination in Jesus' message. I believe there is amazing tranformative power in creativity.

Think about it... When God wanted to do something about the brokenness and corruption of his beloved creation--humanity--he sends Jesus. The incarnation, Jesus, God-in-flesh coming to earth to show us what the invisible God is like. Why didn't he just send some new guidelines to follow to make us better... or "zap" us to fix the problems... or just give up, destroy us and start over? He came up with another way... completely unexpected and creative, and by it to show us that he loves and values us, even in our brokenness... and showing us in the flesh-and-blood Jesus that "being fixed" is less about following all the correct rules and more about the long journey of a heart learning to be fully fixed on him. Beautiful!

Then there's the church. When God wants to bring restoration to all the earth, he decides to use broken and messed up people to do it. Why wouldn't he just use angels or create an army of super-christians to go around fixing the mess... people who would always get it right and know how to get the right outcome in an efficient manner? Instead, in his amazing creativity, Jesus chooses to create us in a way that we find our own healing in the midst of the healing of others... interconnected salvation. "We cannot fully recover until we help the society that made us sick recover." That's why we care about the lost, the orphan, the hungry, the planet... that's why I am in ministry... because I need healing for the brokenness in my own soul, and I find it in ministering to the needs of others. Brilliant!

And the cross? Why would God use a cross instead of an army and an empire to inaugurate a new kingdom? On the cross, Jesus suffered death at the hands of violence and power to reveal the impotence of violence to accomplish redemption and transformation and to show what true power looks like. What is the stronger power... to fight back (with all of heaven's might at your disposal) or to resist and actively love your enemy? Exactly. God's imagination is so amazing... and I never would have thought of it in a million years.

What about the Sermon on the Mount and Matthew 5:39-41? Jesus gives examples of revolution as turning the other cheek, giving up your cloak as well, and walking the extra mile? Here's how it's explained in the book, Jesus for President (with insight from the work of Walter Wink):

You gotta love Jesus' imagination... When someone makes you walk a mile with them, go with them another mile (v.41). This may seem like a strange scenario, but for first-century Jews, it was common to be asked to walk a mile with a soldier. With no Humvees or tanks, soldiers traveled on foot and carried large amounts of gear, so they depended on civilians to carry their supplies. I'm sure there were plenty of Zealots listening to Jesus who threw a fist in the air when they were asked to walk with a soldier. Roman law specified that civilians had to walk one mile, but that's all. (In fact, going a second mile was an infraction of the military code. It would be simply absurd for a Jew to befriend an occupying soldier and want to walk an extra mile with him.) It's a beautiful scene to imagine a soldier asking for his backpack but the person insists on another mile. When asked to carry a pack, don't spit in the person's face but walk with them, even two miles instead of one. Get to know them, not as an enemy but as a person. Talk with them and woo them into our movement by your love--that is, if they'll break their own law to walk two miles with you... 'Evil can be opposed without being mirrored... oppressors can be resisted without be emulated... enemies can be neutralized without being destroyed.'

This is what Walter Brueggemann calls "prophetic imagination." That the people of God can transform the world through creativity and imagination.

Where are the modern examples of this kind of prophetic imagination? What is today's "Jubilee" (an ancient Jewish festival every 50 years of debt forgiveness and slavery freeing) that needs to happen here and now? How do we frame the teachings, "blessed are the poor, the mourners, the meek, the hungry," with creativity for today's hearers? What are the new stories of the Good Samaritan who creatively challenges us with neighbor love? How can I use imagination and creativity to partner with God in reclaiming the world and share the message of Christ's kingdom?

Because I am so very bad at this, here is my prayer: God, help me to join others in reimagining the world. Let me listen and (re)act with with your creativity. Amen.

relationships and obedience

I had an interesting teaching moment this past Sunday during our morning youth Bible study that I've gone back and thought about several times since... and I think it's worth sharing.

We were studying the first chapter of the book of Daniel in the Old Testament. In it, Daniel and his three friends (Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego) make the tough decision to refuse the king's food and instead restrict themselves to a diet of only vegetables and water. Whether the problem with the food was an issue of Jewish dietary restrictions or whether it had been a part of idol worship or whatever, Daniel felt that eating it would have a negative affect on his relationship with God. Obviously the easy thing would have been to keep quiet and eat what everyone else was eating. The hard thing was going against the flow in order to honor God.

And so comes the question: Why? Why would we ever choose the hard task of obeying God when it's more desirable and/or easier to go the way of the rest of humanity?

Before I get to the payoff, you should know that earlier in the morning we played a game in which three of our students tried to get as many followers as they could. Each one had the task of convincing the other youth to do what they told them to do (and not what the other two potential leaders were trying to tell them to do). One of the leaders, Kandice, was getting people to hold hands and was successful in getting two guys who were sitting next to one another to follow her instructions and hold hands (and, being a guy, I know this is certainly not something we normally want to do).

So, when I asked the question, why would we want to obey God when it's hard and inconvenient, this illustration hit me. I asked Tyler (one of the boys who agreed to hold hands with another boy), "Why would you do something that you obviously wouldn't normally want to do?" He said, "I don't know... it's Kandice."

Exactly. It's because of his relationship with her that he was willing to do it. He may not have agreed to do it for most anybody else (including me), but, for her, no problem. It didn't matter that it made him uncomfortable or that she didn't give him a great reason for agreeing to it; he knew and trusted the person who asked him. In fact, if he didn't do it, he knew there was the potential to hurt her feelings... and, as a result, the quality of their friendship.

I tried to explain to the teenagers that this is the exact (and only real) reason for obeying Jesus... out of a relationship with him. So, when Jesus asks me to do something hard or uncomfortable, why should I do it? Because it's Jesus... and I love Jesus. Which, by the way, if this is true, it should never be surprising when someone who is not a Christian, doesn't act like a Christian and doesn't obey Jesus' words. They don't have a relationship with Jesus and have no reason to listen to him. But, on the other hand, if we claim to have a love relationship with Jesus, when we choose to disobey him, we should really be concerned about what that implies about the quality of our relationship. Or as Jesus puts it, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching... he who does not love me will not obey my teaching" (John 14:23-24). Or as John says, "If we claim to have fellowship with [Jesus] yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth" (1 John 1:6).

So, going back to the book of Daniel, one of the things we know about Daniel was that he had a strong relationship with God. If you know the story of the Lion's Den, then you know he was punished precisely because he was more willing to sacrifice his life than he was willing to sacrifice his relationship with God through prayer. Daniel was able to make the tough decisions and obey faithfully because he had a relationship and thoroughly trusted the One who asked him to follow.

The life of adolescence is filled with tough decisions... and "small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it" (Matthew 7:14).

"fast" shoes

Today I'm fasting... sort of. It's not a typical fast, i.e. going without food. Instead, I'm going without shoes for the day.

I'm participating in the "one day without shoes" campaign sponsored by a small internet shoe company called Toms Shoes. Part of the mission of Toms is that for every pair of shoes they sell, they give a pair away to children in need. To date, they have given 140,000 pairs of shoes.

Also, last month our youth group took up a collection to give to a local church's mission team in order to buy shoes for girls in a Guatemalan orphanage.

Shoes can make a big difference. Consider:

In most developing nations, people go barefoot (possibly as much at 4 out of the 6 billion people on our planet).

Walking is often the primary mode of transportation in developing countries. Children can walk for miles to food, clean water and to seek medical help.

Wearing shoes prevents feet from getting cuts and sores on unsafe roads and from contaminated soil. Not only are these injuries painful, they also are dangerous when wounds become infected. The leading cause of disease in developing countries is soil-transmitted parasites which penetrate the skin through open sores. Wearing shoes can prevent this and the risk of amputation.

Many times children can't attend school barefoot because shoes are a required part of their uniform. If they don't have shoes, they don't go to school. If they don't receive an education, they don't have the opportunity to realize their potential.

In Ethiopia, approximately one million people are suffering from Podoconiosis, a debilitating and disfiguring disease caused by walking barefoot on volcanic soil.

Podoconiosis is 100% preventable by wearing shoes.

There are children here in our own state who have to go without shoes, too.

So today I'm fasting from shoes. In many ways it's like "regular fasting." It is an intentional effort to change my focus... to become less selfish and thoughtless of others, to becoming more focused on God and the suffering of his children. Also it provides me with a constant reminder (through its discomfort or the public awkwardness) of what I am doing and, more importantly, why I am doing it. It's a call to pray and ask for God's intervention. Like the hunger produced from normal fasting, going shoeless also gives me an opportunity to feel what others feel, to more fully understand another person's plight. And in my life that is often far too flippant about things, fasting shows that there are some things that are worth taking seriously.

Unlike typical fasting, I am doing this publicly (c.f. Matthew 6:16-18 where we are told to keep our fasting private). I am hoping that by going barefoot today I will help raise awareness of the need for generosity and aid for those without shoes. In addition to this blog, facebook, and twitter, I have fliers to give people I see today. I want people to know that I am standing in solidarity with my fellow human beings, shoulder to shoulder, trying to give them a voice. I am urging us to have greater compassion for the shoeless children of our world.

You know, yesterday there were many demonstrations about the fair tax, and I admit my ignorance about the whole issue. I have no idea if it's good or not. But it seems there's a big difference between what they did yesterday and what those of use who are going shoeless today are doing. Yesterday they demonstrated on their own behalf, hoping to get what they feel is in their own best interests... standing up for their supposed "rights." Today, I don't stand up for myself or my own rights (I'm already too spoiled); instead, I am standing up for someone else.

I want to encourage you to get involved. Go barefoot! Find ways to support shoe delivery efforts around the world. Give generously. Have compassion--walk a mile in their shoes (?).

Stations of the Cross: A Virtual Journey to the Cross

Last Sunday morning, I put together a wholly different kind of lesson for our youth--"The Stations of the Cross." It is a self-guided prayer time, where the students physically walk around the room to different stations representing points along Jesus' journey from his condemnation to his burial. At each stop, there is a Scripture passage, an image, a meditation, a prayer, and an activity to perform. I'm posting here the material I compiled and invite you on a virtual journey to the cross (or you can come by the church before Friday and walk through it yourself!).

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Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Explanation of Stations:
Today I’m inviting you to participate in an activity called “The Stations of the Cross.” This experience is designed to help you bridge the gap between this Sunday, Palm Sunday, and next Sunday, Easter Sunday. If all you knew were these two Sundays, all you would know would be celebration and victory. But there’s more than that going on in the life of Jesus in the last week of his life.

Take a moment to review the events of Jesus' final weeks: Palm Sunday (triumphal entry), weeping over Jerusalem, cleansing the temple, intense time with his closest followers, Maundy Thursday (washing feet, Passover meal, Last supper, high priestly prayer, garden, betrayal), Good Friday (arrest, trial, humiliation, beating, execution, on the cross, burial).

There will be Easter and resurrection and victory, but not yet. Don’t lose sight of the significance of the journey by rushing through the messiness and gruesomeness of Thursday night and Friday in order to get to the victory of Easter Sunday. Take time to focus on the cross and all that it means so that you can fully appreciate the Resurrection.

There are 7 stations and each one represents a point along Jesus’ journey from being condemned to die to his death on the cross and being placed in his tomb. At each station I want you to read the Scripture, look at the picture, read the meditation and thoughtfully participate in the activity. Take your time. This is for you.

The first point to note is that this is prayer. It isn't an intellectual exercise. It is in the context of my relationship with God. I could read through the text of each of the stations, and look at the pictures, but that wouldn't necessarily be prayer. This is an invitation to enter into a gifted faith experience of who Jesus is for me. It becomes prayer when I open my heart to be touched, and it leads me to express my response in prayer.

The second thing to remember is that this is an imaginative exercise. Its purpose is not a historical examination of "what really happened" on that day in history. It's about something far more profound. This is an opportunity to use this long standing Christian prayer to let Jesus touch my heart deeply by showing me the depth of his love for me. The context is the historical fact that he was made to carry the instrument of his death, from the place where he was condemned to die, to Calvary where he died, and that he was taken down and laid in a tomb. The religious context is that today Jesus wants to use any means available to move my heart to know his love for me. These exercises can allow me to imaginatively visualize the "meaning" of his passion and death.

The point of this exercise is to lead us to gratitude. It will also lead us into a sense of solidarity with all our brothers and sisters. In our busy, high tech lives we can easily get out of touch with the terrible suffering of real people in our world. Journeying with Jesus in the Stations, allows us to imagine his entry into the experience of those who are tortured, unjustly accused or victimized, sitting on death row, carrying impossible burdens, facing terminal illnesses, or simply fatigued with life.

Beyond all the good statements and the sentimentalism associated with the Cross, finally it is about faithfulness, servanthood, the commitment of God to his creation that will not abandon that commitment even when rejected. In a real sense, the cross is about the power of love, the commitment of God to humanity, the God whose faithfulness and grace knows no limits and will yield to no boundary, that will risk even death itself for the sake of new life.


Station 1: Jesus is Condemned to Die
Now Jesus stood before the governor; and the governor asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus said, "You say so." But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he did not answer. Then Pilate said to him, "Do you not hear how many accusations they make against you?" But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed. . . . So when Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took some water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves." . . . and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified. (Matt 27:11-14, 24, 26b) As the journey with him begins, I view the scene, I become moved by both outrage and gratitude. I look at you. Your face. The crown of thorns. The blood. Your clothes stuck to the wounds on your back. Pilate washes his hands of the whole affair. You stands there silently with your hands tied behind your back. This is for me. That I might be free. That I might have eternal life. I express my love and thanks.

Jesus, I wish you would speak! I wish you would proclaim who you are. I wish you would confront the disbelief of the crowds and the arrogant cowardice of the powers that be. Surely someone will speak up for you! Where are the lepers who were healed? Where are the blind who can now see? Where are all the people who ate the bread and fish on the hillside? Where are those who followed you so easily when they thought you would become King of the Jews? Yet no one speaks. No voice in the crowd comes to your defense. You stand alone.

You stand before Pilate, the power of Rome. Weakness stands before strength. And yet, Pilate, the ruthless enforcer for the Empire is not really in control here. He cannot make you confess. He cannot quiet the crowds. For all his power, he cannot find the courage to do what is right. So he does what is safe. He yields to the crowds for the sake of order. Courage and strength do not always sit on thrones or judgment seats. Power is not always in the hands of Empires.

I have been alone. I have been falsely accused, and no one has spoken for me. I have been treated unfairly by those who could have used their power for better purposes. I can understand some of your feelings as you stand silently before Pilate and watch him proclaim his own innocence as he condemns an innocent man.

But perhaps I have treated others unfairly as well. Perhaps I have not spoken up for others when they needed a voice. There are those around me who have been treated unjustly. Have I always had the courage to come to their defense? There are those around me who feel alone and abandoned. Have I always been there for them? O Lord, forgive me for not always being who I should be.

Pray: Jesus, I see in your silence the quiet strength that reveals a peace and a resolve. O Lord, help me deal with the unfairness of life without becoming critical of others. Help me to be sensitive to the pain and feelings of others. Give me the courage to do what is right without being swayed by the demands of others. Let me understand that this was for me. “We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. Because by your holy cross you have reclaimed the world.”

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As the journey begins, ask to be with Jesus. To follow his journey.
Spend a few moments looking at yourself in the mirror. Think about how it feels to be treated unfairly. Remember what it feels like to stand alone.
Know that he stood alone, so that you would never have to stand alone again. Say to yourself, “He did this for me. He did this for me.”

Station 2: Jesus Carries His Cross
Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor's headquarters, and they gathered the whole cohort around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on his head. They put a reed in his right hand and knelt before him and mocked him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" They spat on him, and took the reed and struck him on the head. After mocking him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him. (Matthew 27:27-31)
Carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. (John 19:17)

You are made to carry the cross on which you will die. I contemplate the wood of that cross. I imagine how heavy it is. It represents the weight of all our crosses, our burdens, our anguish, our sufferings. What you must have felt as you first took it upon his shoulders! With each step you enter more deeply into our human experience. You walk in the path of human struggle and experience its crushing weight.

Jesus, I see you accept the Cross in the midst of such mockery. You could have refused. What more could they have done to you? Yet you begin this journey, knowing full well where it will lead. I hear no words of complaint, no protests of innocence, no cursing the injustice. And yet I am so prone to complain and whine. Sometimes the troubles of life are very real and bear down on me. But I so easily fall into self-pity. I too often assume that I am the only one who bears a cross, or that my cross is larger and heavier than any others.

You told me, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24)

Pray: O Lord, forgive me for forgetting that in my weakness I am driven to trust on you, and that in that trust my weakness becomes your strength. Forgive my attitudes of self-pity that make me more bitter and ugly than loving. And when crosses come, give me the strength to bear them as one who follows your example. “We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. Because by your holy cross you have reclaimed the world.”

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Jesus bore the weight of the world on the cross.
What are some of the weights that your bear?
Write your struggle or burden on a slip of paper. Join your link to the chain of sorrow, misery and sin.
Give it to Jesus and commit to trust Him with it.


Station 3: Simon Helps Jesus Carry His Cross
They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus. (Mark 15:21)

Jesus, I can only imagine the awful weight of that cross you carry. It is not just the weight of beams of wood that presses down on you. It is also the weight of the burden you carry for those whom you have loved. You came to offer them life, and yet they return only death.

So I see you fall from the crushing weight of pain and grief. I don’t know how many times you have fallen, but I know that your physical strength is failing. The soldiers must recognize this as well, because they force a man from the crowd to help you carry the cross the rest of the way to the place where you will be crucified. Perhaps they are afraid that you will die before you make it to the top of the hill. The man of Cyrene was just a bystander passing through on his way into town from the countryside. And yet he bears the weight of the cross to save your strength.

I look into your face and contemplate your struggle. Your powerlessness. Your dependence on another. I see how you look at Simon, with utmost humility and gratitude. This is for me. So I feel anguish and gratitude. I express my thanks that you can continue this journey. That you have help. That you know my inability to carry my burden alone.

I would like to think that if I had been there I would have rushed from the crowd and volunteered to carry that cross for you. But would I have had the courage to face the Roman soldiers and risk being forced to join you on a cross? Would I have been willing to risk everything to ease your suffering for a few moments by letting you know that you were not alone?

Besides, I have my own crosses already. I have as much as I can bear without taking on the added burdens of others. And what would people think of me if I were seen consorting with criminals and enemies of Rome in such a public spectacle? So instead of offering to help, I tried to become invisible in the crowd. And when the soldiers were looking around for someone to press into service, I looked away and pretended not to notice what was happening.

It is easy to pretend not to see the needs, the grief, and the suffering around me every day. It is easy to pretend not to hear the cries for help that come in many forms from those among whom I walk every day. It is easy to convince myself that I am too busy, or too tired, or have too much on my plate already to get involved in the lives of others. There are simply too many who need too much.

And yet I remember something that you said, something about becoming a servant of all, of putting myself last and others first. Is this what it means to be a servant? Jesus, are you showing me what it means to be that kind of servant. Is this man from Cyrene modeling for me the path of discipleship?

Pray: O Lord, forgive me for becoming so preoccupied with myself that I have become deaf and blind to the grief and suffering of those around me. Forgive me for my indifference. Constantly remind me that I cannot love you without loving others as well. Help me always remember that to be a follower of yours means that I share in the burdens of others. Lord, show me someone whose cross I may help carry. “We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. Because by your holy cross you have reclaimed the world.”

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Put yourself in Simon’s place.
Be a burden-bearer.
Light a candle for someone near you. Quietly pray a prayer of encouragement for that person.

Now put yourself in Jesus’ shoes.
Pray a prayer of thanks for those who have helped and encouraged you.
Open up your life and allow others to come alongside you who might share your burdens… giving you the strength to fulfill your purpose.


Station 4: Jesus is Stripped
When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it." This was to fulfill what the scripture says, "They divided my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots." And that is what the soldiers did. (John 19:23-25a)

Part of the indignity is to be crucified naked. You are completely stripped of any pride. The wounds on your back are torn open again. You experience the ultimate vulnerability of the defenseless. No shield or security protects you. As they stare at you, your eyes turn to heaven.

I pause to watch the stripping. I contemplate all that is taken from you. And how you face your death with such nakedness.

I reflect upon how much of yourself you have revealed to me. Holding nothing back. You have trusted me with everything of you, revealing the depths of your heart to me. And I realize how much I hide from you. I conceal my ugliness, my weakness, my sin. I am so scared that if you really knew me, I would disgust you. You are so good; I am filled with so much darkness.

Can I trust you with my real self? Will you still find me worth loving? Or will you give up on me? If I reveal too much, I’m afraid you might leave me alone and naked.

As I look at you in your humility, I know that this is for me so that I could trust you not to reject me. So that I would not have to hide anymore. I share my feelings of gratitude.

Pray: Jesus, help me to trust you enough to have the confidence to expose myself to your Spirit. Forgive me for my distance and hiddenness. Make me free. “We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. Because by your holy cross you have reclaimed the world.”

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Take a moment to stand in front of the fan.
Feel the breeze as it penetrates and overwhelms you.
Allow God’s Spirit to blow through you.
Feel the Spirit strip away everything you hide behind. Everything that is not His.
Ask Him, “Remove everything that stands between us.”


Station 5: Jesus is Nailed to the Cross
And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it. And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take. It was nine o'clock in the morning when they crucified him. The inscription of the charge against him read, "The King of the Jews." And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, "Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!" In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, "He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe." Those who were crucified with him also taunted him. (Mark 15:23-32)

Huge nails are hammered through your hands and feet to fix you on the cross. You are bleeding much more seriously now. As the cross is lifted up, the weight of your life hangs on those nails. Every time you struggle to pull yourself up to breathe, your ability to cling to life slips away.

I make myself watch the nails being driven through your flesh. And I watch your face. I hear your words spoken from the cross:
“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
“I am thirsty.”
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
“It is finished.”
“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”

I contemplate the completeness of your entry into our lives. Can there be any pain or agony you would not understand?

This is for me. The brokeness that makes me whole. The surrender that gives me life. I pause to experience and receive how completely you love me. You are indeed completely poured out for me. As I treasure this gift, I express what is in my heart.

Pray: O Lord, thank you for this gift. I am amazed that you did not give up on your dream for me to be with you, even when it cost so much. “We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. Because by your holy cross you have reclaimed the world.”

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Take piece of ice in your hand.
Hold it in your palm.
Hold onto it as long as you can through the rest of the stations.
As you feel the cold stab through your hand, remember the nails that pierced his flesh.
Let it remind you of his suffering… and love.


Station 6: Jesus Dies On The Cross
From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And about three o'clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, "This man is calling for Elijah." At once one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, "Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him." Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. After his resurrection they came out of the tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many. Now when the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were terrified and said, "Truly this man was God's Son!" (Matthew 27:45-54)

I watch as, between two criminals, a mocking title above your head, with only Mary and John and Mary Magdalene to support you, you surrender your last breath. Outside the city, as a convicted criminal, you are executed.

I stand there, at the foot of the cross, side by side with all of humanity, and witness our salvation. The One who gives life now passes from life to death, for me. Behold the ransom paid, the price of my rebellion given for me. I am bought with the highest price.

Can you imagine how much God loves you?

Pray: O Lord, may I understand this more and more. Let my heart more fully experience this unapologetic and unconditional love for me. “We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. Because by your holy cross you have reclaimed the world.”

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Take to heart the price of salvation.
Express your deepest feelings within you. Write your words on the cross.
Communicate your feelings of love, thanks, adoration, whatever.


Station 7: Jesus Is Laid In The Tomb
Then he took (Jesus’ body) down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin. The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. (Luke 23:53-55)

What tender mourning! As you are taken down, I behold this scene at the foot of the cross. The preparations for burial. Gently touching your broken body. I remember all that your hands have touched, all who have been blessed by your warm embrace. I pause to let it soak in. Your lifeless body is laid in the tomb. A profound sacrifice, complete.

They take your body to its resting place. The huge stone over the tomb is the final sign of the permanence of death. In this final act of surrender, who would have imagined this tomb would soon be empty or that you would show yourself alive to your disciples, or that they would recognize you in the breaking of bread? Oh, that our hearts might burn within us, as we realize how you had to suffer and die so as to enter into your glory.

For me. That I might love as I have been loved. I pour out my heart to the God of all mercies.

I stand for a moment outside this tomb. This final journey of your life has shown me the meaning of your gift of yourself for me. This tomb represents every tomb I stand before with fear, in defeat, struggling to believe it could ever be empty.

Pray: In the fullness of faith in the Risen One, given by your own Holy Spirit, I express my gratitude for this way of the cross. I ask you, Jesus, whose hands, feet and side still bear the signs of this journey, to grant me the graces I need to take up my cross to be a servant of your own mission. “We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. Because by your holy cross you have reclaimed the world.”

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Pick up a stone.
Carry it with you this week.
As you wait for Easter Sunday, when the stone was rolled away, use it to remind you of Jesus’ journey to the tomb.
Of your journey with Him.
Bring it back with you next week.


Amen.

* Here's some of the places I found material for this.

processing stuff

It's time for this blog to do what it's really here to do: help me process some thoughts.

Kate is going in for surgery on Wednesday morning. As most of you are aware, my daughter was born with a cleft lip/ cleft palate. Her lip was repaired in China when she was seven months old (thanks to the generous sponsors of the "Happy Fund" in Suzhou). There is a little scarring and a "bump" on her upper lip from the repair, but I feel like it was done well and, if you've seen her, would have to admit that she's the most beautiful little girl you've ever seen!! (By the way, the doctor also concurs that the procedure was done well... which is important.)

So, though the lip was repaired, Kate still has an unrepaired cleft palate. The cleft in her palate is complete, which means the hole in the roof of her mouth spans both the hard and soft palate all the way to the gum line. Wednesday they will insert ear tubes (to help with the constant ear infections which are common with cleft-affected kids) and repair the cleft, leaving only the gum line unrepaired (which they will repair through a bone graft once she's a little older and her permanent teeth have come in). This later surgery, along with probably pretty extensive orthodontics, will help with her teeth and under bite.

The surgery on Wednesday will be in the morning, and they are planning to keep her overnight to watch for any swelling that might obstruct her breathing. Then she will come home Thursday to a diet of nothing but liquids for ten days. This will be quite a test, I think... she loves to eat and it will be tricky to work out the logistics of feeding the boys and keeping food (and toys) out of her mouth. After the ten days, she'll have a period where she can only eat soft foods like mashed potatoes and whatever we put in the blender before she eventually returns to eating normal again.

This surgery has the potential to be so great for her. For example, because of the cleft, she is unable to suck. As much as she loves straws (she insists on having one every time we go out to eat and non-stop pretends to drink out of it), how great will it be once she's recovered from the surgery and she can actually suck something through them! We're also hoping it will help with the amount of drool :)

Also, every once in a while, the cleft has made it so that when she sneezes, food comes out her nose. (I remember the first time she did this and a huge chunk that had apparently been lodged up there flew out and landed on my arm! Nice.)

More than that, her language should progress significantly. Because of the cleft, she has a very hard time making many sounds (she was never really able to speak Chinese either). In the mean time, we've been learning sign language so that she can communicate with us, and it has worked pretty well so far. And even if she doesn't get all the sounds just right, she already does such a great job with the English words she has learned so far like "hello," "bye," "home," "help," "hot," and "mama." Kate's got a great speech therapist working with her already, and I can't wait for her to make more sounds and start speaking more and more words and phrases. It'll make such a difference in her life.

But I can't help but think, "Poor girl!" I feel so bad for her. We really can't prepare her for this. Obviously she doesn't understand the English word "surgery"... not to mention the fact that it's hard to explain to a two-year old the principle of delayed gratification, i.e. what hurts so bad now will make your life so much better down the road. She doesn't have a clue that her world is going to be turned upside-down. I mean, there she is having such a great time with us, laughing and playing. With all we've gone through to try to build trust and avoid her rejecting us; I'm afraid something like this might destroy all that we've built the last three months.

I'm praying for the surgery to be successful and the healing to be quick, but maybe that's my deeper prayer-- let this ordeal not damage our relationship with her and turn her away from us... and maybe even somehow let it strengthen her bonds with her mommy and daddy. Or at least, let her emotional wounds from this surgery heal eventually, too.

That's the problem with suffering, isn't it? Let her go through it or protect her from it? Will it drive her away or draw her closer? As a good dad, I have to submit my daughter to this trauma. I wish I could save her from it, but I see the bigger picture and the long-term benefit of the surgery. It wouldn't be real love or mercy if I let her avoid the pain. But if she were given the choice, she might choose not to have to endure the pain and she may not perceive that I did what was really best. In the same kind of way, I guess I hope that through whatever painful experiences I might have to face in my own life that I will know that I have a Father I can trust so that I don't doubt his love for me, even if in my own eyes it seems unloving. Pain usually leads to one of two things: greater distance or greater closeness. I think that if Kate really trusts me, then as she receives comfort from me in the pain, it will knit our hearts together more and more. Oh God, please help my little girl know her daddy loves her.

Reclaim the World

We've been doing a series I've called "Reclaim God's Dream for the World." And last week I used this example out of Rob Bell's book, Velvet Elvis.

Another truth about the church we're embracing is that the gospel is good news, especially for those who don't believe it.

Imagine an average street in an average city in an average country, if there is such a place. Let's imagine Person X lives in a house on this street. Next door is a Hindu, and on the other side is a Muslim. Across the street is an atheist, next door to them an agnostic, and next door on the other side, someone from Ohio.

Imagine Person X becomes a Christian. Maybe she read something or had friends who inspired her to learn more, or maybe she had an addiction and through a recovery movement she surrendered her life to God. However it came to be, she became a follower of Jesus. Let's say she starts living out Jesus' teachings, actually taking him seriously that she can become a compelling force for good in the world. She is becoming more generous, more compassionate, more forgiving, more loving. Is she becoming a better or worse neighbor? If we are her neighbors, we're thrilled about her new faith. We find ourselves more and more grateful for a neighbor like this. We wish more people would be like this.

Let's make some observations about this street. The good news of Jesus is good news for Person X. It's good news for Person X's neighbors. It's good news for the whole street. It's good news for the people who don't believe in Jesus. We have to be really clear about this. The good news for Person X is good news for the whole street. And if it is good news for the whole street, then it's good news for the whole world.

If the gospel isn't good news for everybody, then it isn't good news for anybody.

What do you think?

I was impressed with how our teenagers seemed to responded to this. It feels almost like our journey together is taking us into some deeper waters (maybe more dangerous and difficult waters). What does this mean for the way we "do church"? This seems to take the focus off what we get out of being "one of the chosen" and placing it on our task of being an instrument of God's blessing to the rest of the world, specifically those who are not "us." God doesn't just care about those on the inside, the believer, the saved... he cares about the entire earth! Like Abraham's call in Genesis 12, he wants to use us as the instrument of blessing everyone and everything. "All peoples on earth will be blessed through you." He wants us to join him in reclaiming his dream for the whole world.

How do you live this out?

Is God Really Enough?

In the last couple days I've been priviledged to participate in an interesting theological discussion on facebook with several folks from NKU and their campus minister, Brian (an old college friend of mine). It started out with Brian's post, "Is God Really Enough?":

Question get your attention? :) No, I am not questioning God as the creator and provider of all things. :) I spoke at our worship service last night and this was one of the questions I posed to spark some discussion in hopes of further developing our Christian Community within the NKU BCM as well as on the campus of NKU. Will you go with me for a minute...

Look at Genesis 1 & 2...God has just created man (Adam). In Chapter 1, as he created each day, He ended the day by saying it was Good. After He created man (Adam & Eve), he said it was Very Good. There is something special about humans that God created... Now, in Chapter 2...after everything had just been declared "Good" and "Very Good", God says in Verse 18, "It is not good for man to be alone..." Amongst all the good, God declares something that was not good. This has been interesting for me to ponder. Why was it not good? Maybe because it was incomplete? Not accomplishing what God wanted accomplished?

I often hear comments from people that as long as I have my relationship with God, that is all that really matters...God is enough. I find it interesting that this is exactly the situation Adam is in in Genesis 2 and yet, it seems that God deemed that that was not enough...something was missing. This led me to another question...Is there a void in our life that God will not fill? Note that I did not say that He could not fill it. He is perfectly capable of doing so. But, in this instance in Genesis 2, it seems that He has left a void in Adam's life that God did not fill. (Also note, that the fall had not occurred yet...) Verse 18 concludes with, "...I will make a helper suitable for him." Scripture goes on to describe the process that ultimately resulted in a suitable helper/companion being created...Eve...another human.

Could it be that from the beginning God created us (humans) to experience community much like the community/relationship experienced among the Trinity? Could it be that we are missing part of the point when we do not emphasize that God really is enough in the context of Christian community? Could it be that one reason the Church is not getting much traction with the Gospel in the world is that we are missing a large part if ourselves?

These are some thoughts I am working through...there are likely holes of reason and understanding. Will you help me explore these questions by engaging this discussion with me? I think the process of exploration in these areas trusting that God, through His Holy Spirit will guide us to His answers, will be a way to spur one another on to futher growth in our relationship with God and each other. Hope to hear from you!

Which caused me to do some thinking... and give input into the discussion, too:

Just a thought... Was the Trinity not enough for God? Isn't that why he created humans? Maybe the bigger picture is that community-in-and-of-itself isn't what is missing... maybe an ever-growing, more-inclusive community is what God is pointing to here. (A community which constantly adds more to it, e.g. the Trinity adding Adam, Adam adding Eve, the first family adding children, etc.) Yet another aspect to the Abrahamic covenant: You are blessed to be a blessing... bring more people into the "family," if you will.

Personally, this has been more real to me through our adoption of Kate. I'm not enough... Me and Amy aren't enough... Me, Amy and my 2 sons aren't enough... We felt it deep in our souls to love another and open up our family to this amazing little girl. As in the case of the Trinity, even good can become better. Or, maybe put another way, good can become "not good" if it never grows beyond itself.

And this, too (after further discussion):

Yes, thanks James for the word of caution. I really don't mean to imply that God was not self-sustaining, but nevertheless I don't want to miss the way that God builds something of himself into his human creation, a.k.a. "created in his image."

Brian, great job explaining what I was trying to say... I should let you speak for me more often :) Like you, I guess I might use the word "satisfied." When you look at the creative and redeeming nature of God, it reveals an unwillingness to be satisfied with things as they are. (Also, maybe that's why ours is a God of linear history instead of recurring cycles and reincarnation?) I mean, really, isn't the problem with many churches that they're often satisfied NOT reaching out beyond themselves? Why does this annoy God? Because the people who call themselves by his name are acting in a way that is inconsistent with his character! I believe it is part of who God is that he is always seeking, inviting, welcoming, opening doors, breaking down barriers, growing, renewing, recapturing, redeeming...

So is God enough for God? Does God need more than God? "Need"? I wouldn't go that far. "Desire"? I truly think so. Forgive me if I overstate the point, but I feel that God's love moves him to be dissatisfied.

I'm interested... does this make sense? What does everyone else think?