Change

Change. And no I don’t mean the kind of change that you find in your pockets. That is a good kind of change, especially good now that we have loonies and toonies making us richer than we think. No I mean that other kind of change. The kind of change where things don’t stay the same. The kind of change one ponders when one hits forty. If I’m about to hit the “middle-age-spread,” then what have I been experiencing the last twenty years? The kind of change we see in our bodies as we never stop changing. The kind of change we see in our families. A family photo soon becomes a snapshot in time, a historical record for us to look at someday and say “ah, remember when . . .”. The kind of change we see in our culture. New laws. New unwritten rules. New values. A new generation born, and a new generation bemoaning the changes “since I was your age.” I’m changing, sounding more and more like my Dad everyday. The kind of change which sometimes unfortunately we cannot stop. The kind of change which sometimes we feel unable to start.

Change. The kind of change a young couple face when they discover there will soon be a pregnancy out of wedlock, despite adherence to traditional values. How will we explain this one to the neighbours? The kind of change that brought great joy to the magi. The kind of change King Herod faced when some wise guys from the East announced that there was a new king in town. Oh, and the new king gets his own star. Change is coming, be afraid. The kind of change that is announced to a flock of shepherds “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” Change is coming, do not be afraid.

Much has been written about the Christmas story, and here I am composing another Christmas letter. Ah, some things do not change! But whatever is said about that first Christmas we can say this. Because Christ is born, everything has changed. Because Christ was born, everything will change. That change may bring fear to you, it may bring comfort. That change may bring you grief, it may bring you joy. It may bring you dread, it may bring you hope. Either way, change is coming. May we experience this Christmas as the kind of people who look forward to it. Even better, may we experience this Christmas as the kind of people who bring it to those who need it most.

Sandra, the boys and I wish you a Merry and Hope filled Christmas!

 

We Are Not McDonald’s

We are not McDonald’s.  Not that I have anything against McDonald’s.  In fact it is because of McDonald’s that I was able to get anywhere near eating lobster with the eating of a McLobster.  Long story but the idea of eating an ocean going bug staring at me from my plate does not appeal to me at all.  But back to the point.  We are not McDonald’s.  That is, we, the Christian Church, are not a franchise.  Go into any McDonald’s and you will find something very familiar.  The food is the same.  The service is hopefully up to the same standards set by head office.  Even the decor ends up being the same in most locations.  Go into any McDonald’s, or any other like franchise, and you will be able to predict what you experience.  Go into any Christian Church, and you can not predict what you will experience. There are differences between the denominations.  But even the denominational label does not give you much to go on as there can and are great differences across denominations also.  Every church is unique.

We had the opportunity to experience this first hand this summer through joint services between Fourth Avenue Baptist, Glebe St-James United, and St. Giles Presbyterian churches.  Each church is unique, not just of course in its building, or even its expression of worship, but in its people.  The highlight for me was the addition of a fourth Gebe church for one Sunday, the “Centre Evangelique Foi et Victoire.”  As you can probably guess this is a French speaking congregation.  What you may not have guessed was that many of its people come from Africa, and so an African flavour (not to mention vibe) was added to our combined worship that Sunday with expressions of worship in French, Lingala, and Swahili.    A unique experience for us all!  In fact seeing Baptists and Presbyterians dancing was like witnessing a miracle!  And I was glad my translator warned me that the French would sound longer than the English.  Otherwise I might have concluded that those listening in French were getting a different sermon (and perhaps better!) than those listening to me in English.

Why is every church unique?  Is it the failure of some head office somewhere to apply certain standards across the board?  No, the Christian Church was never to be an experience of franchise.  Instead, the Christian Church is to be the experience of family.  And just as every family across the globe is unique, so too is every individual Christian family.  This diversity is wonderful and to be celebrated, even enjoyed on those occasions we come together for wider ‘family re-unions.’

Not that there are no standards of course.  The central confession of the Church worldwide today is the same as it was in the early days of the Church.  The first Christians responded to the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus with the confession “Jesus is Lord.”  Despite our diversity, this is the central confession that still binds us together.  The resurrection and lordship of Jesus is what we find in the Bible.  This is what we recognise every Sunday, “The Lord’s Day,” a day chosen for worship as commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus on a Sunday (and not because we think it is the Sabbath – it is not!).

Now some may say, “but pastor, this goes against the diversity of the Church you have just been celebrating as there are some churches today that are not comfortable with the affirmation that Jesus is literally raised from the dead or is ‘Lord’.”  Indeed some church folk have written off the possibility of miracles and so have thrown the miraculously conceived baby Jesus out with the bath water.  But to be a Christian church and be uncomfortable with the miraculous resurrection of Jesus would be like having a restaurant called “the Greasy Burger Pit,” that refuses to have meat on the menu.  It leaves us asking that age-old question, “where’s the beef?”

The Church: A wonderfully diverse family of families.  Each is unique, but it is not “anything goes.”  We are not McDonald’s, but I’m lovin’ it.

(from an article written for the Glebe Report)

 

Have You Moved?

This is a question that I could answer ‘yes’ to many times.  While we did not change church families too often (my Dad being the pastor), we did move house quite often, so much so that I cannot recall how many homes I have now called ‘home.’  But on last count I attended six different public schools (in two different nations), three different high schools (in three different towns/cities), one college and two universities.  And since then, I continue the life as a nomad, now into my third locale with wife and family.  So yes, I have moved, and got quite good at it!  In fact I now have little patience when helping others move who don’t know how it is to be done.  Ever heard of boxes?

But the question put to the congregation recently (actually four congregations as we enjoyed a joint service together) was not ‘have you moved house?’  It was really ‘has your soul moved?’  As Christians we are led by the Spirit of God: ”Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” Galatians 5:25 (NIV).  As we are led by the Spirit of God, we should expect to see change in our character: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV).  Now sometimes this strikes Christians as being somehow either unrealistic, or unfair.  ”We can’t expect people to be perfect.”  ”We should accept people just as they are.”  ”People cannot change, nor should we ask them to.”  That kind of thing.  True enough, we accept people just as they are, but we should be asking ourselves, and each other if we are really watching out for one another, ‘have we moved?’  Have we seen a change in character?  Is it evident to others, so evident it is like fruit on a tree, easily visible, and attractive not to mention life giving?

Yes we accept people as they are, but we can no more be led by the Spirit of God and remain the same, than the Israelites could be led by the pillar of smoke by day and the pillar of fire by night and remain in Egypt* (see the book of Exodus!).  If we are led, we are moving.  If we are not moving, it is not because God has stopped leading us, it is because we have stopped following. Perhaps we like Egypt too much. Perhaps we have found a comfy spot in the wilderness short of the promised land and have decided to settle in the desert. Perhaps we mistakenly thought we were being baptized in the Jordan, with the promised land just over there easily within reach, when really we were baptized back in the Nile, with quite the journey ahead of us.

There is a Spirit-led journey ahead of each of us.  And I don’t believe any of us ever really reach the ‘promised land’ of Christ-like character in this lifetime.  But the question is not “have you arrived?”  The Lord knows I have not.  My wife knows too.  And so do those who need my help moving and who have not packed properly, as previously mentioned.  The question is ‘have you moved?’ Are you different now than you were ten years ago?  Five years ago?

Whatever your answer is, I know what mine needs to be:  Let’s get moving!

(adapted from a sermon preached August 2011)

*I have vague memories of reading a similar line of thought somewhere, but I can’t remember the who’s or where’s of it, so thank you to whoever was responsible for this thought!

 

Sermon Bit: Why Did a Man Die?

In our recent sermon series we have been considering ethics and have concluded that Christian ethics consists of the following:

1. Walking with God the Son.  We are not a people who just follow rules in our ethics, but a people who think through ethics creatively with ‘God tuned hearts,’ as Jesus did.  He inspires us to attain to a righteousness that ‘surpasses that of the Pharisees and teachers of the law.’
2. Kneeling at the throne of God the Father. We are not a people who just follow rules in our ethics, but a people who are inspired by the glory and holiness of God.  Ethics is not just a rational endeavour, but a relational one.  Rather than merely being focused on not breaking rules, we are focused on not breaking God’s heart.
3. Being led by God the Holy Spirit.  We are not a people who just follow rules in our ethics, but a people who are being transformed in our character.  Indeed a person with solid character does not need rules!

I don’t normally tune into American news, but one night recently I did looking to get an American perspective on the economy (not that I have any stocks to be concerned about!).  Instead I got a new perspective on something else.A story came on about a group of white youths in Mississippi who set out to rough up the first black man they came across.  Before too long they found a victim, beat him up and then fled.  The last white youth to flee decided to take it a step further and ran over the black man with his truck.  CNN showed the horrific video shot by security cameras, capturing the man’s last moments of life.  To quote the CNN, James Craig Anderson died ‘just because he was black.’

Did a man die recently just because he was black?

Had the white youth in this story been walking with Jesus, a man would still be alive.  A righteousness that surpasses that of the Pharisees, does not hate.  We follow the One who picked up his cross, who told us to pick up ours and follow Him.  We walk with the One who was nailed to his cross for us, all of us, people of every colour, from every nation.

Had the white youth been spending time before God’s throne contemplating His holiness and glory and grace, a man would still be alive.  With God there is no partiality.  He created us, in rich diversity, and in His image he created us.  If the fear of God is in us, how dare we hate someone created in His image?

Had the white youth been led by and kept in step with the Spirit, a man would still be alive.  The evidence of the Spirit’s transforming work in our lives is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (see Galatians 5:22,23).  People with this kind of character don’t intentionally drive over other people.

A black man died, yes because he was black, but also because a white youth needed and needs Jesus.  Christian ethics goes hand-and-hand with evangelism!

Not so common anymore are signs that declare “Jesus is the answer.”  I can remember one of my colleagues snidely asking “what’s the question?”  The question is:  What do we do about racism?  What do we do about pornography?  What do we do about marital unfaithfulness?  What do we do about addictions?  What do we do about fraud?  What do we do about prostitution?  What do we do about gangs?  What do we do about societies where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer?  What do we do about totalitarian regimes fraught with corruption?  What do we do about democracies fraught with scandals?  What do we do?  We go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything Jesus has commanded us (Matthew 28:19,20).  In the Great Commission, Jesus himself teaches us that evangelism and ethics go hand in hand.

Christian ethics is not an exercise in thinking philosophically about right and wrong, it is a matter of life and death for millions.  Evangelism is not about comparing worldviews to see which might bring us the greatest sense of inner peace or whatever we think religion should do for us.  Evangelism is about partnering with God who is bringing about a complete transformation of the world as He brings His kingdom.  And it happens in the transformation of each disciple.

The day is coming, it is described in Revelation, when we will be walking with Jesus, we will be  before the throne, we will be led by The Spirit.  And “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:4 NIV)  And we reach forward to that future, not just striving toward it, but grasping hold of it and bringing it back to our time and place.  We start  living it now, calling and inviting others to do likewise.

Evangelism is not “smile, Jesus loves you,” but, and I do mean this in a positive sense, “Jesus loves you, now get a life!.”  Get the life God wants for you, get the life that beings blessings to others, not curses, get the life that brings joy to others, not suffering, get the life that brings life to others, not death.

It is time for a renewed confidence that evangelism is important, crucial indeed, yes because it impacts a person’s eternal destiny,but also that it is in fact life changing.  People are dying because other people need Jesus!  How the history of the world would have been different if so many of the shady characters of history (including those who would call themselves Christian by the way), had responded to Jesus and taken Christian ethics seriously.  How the history of the world can and will be different as we reach out with the Good News of Jesus Christ!

We are at that point in the summer when we start seeing “Back to School” signs around and about.  For many of us, September almost feels like a fresh start.  Are you ready to make a fresh start, to take Christian ethics seriously this coming year?  Are you committed to walking with Jesus?  Committed to spending time before the throne of our Heavenly Father? Committed to following the leading of the Spirit?  Are you ready to go, making disciples of all nations, baptizing them, teaching them to obey everything Jesus has commanded?

(from a sermon preached August 14, 2011)

 

Sermon Bit: Can Today’s Christian Learn Anything from the Old Testament Rules?

We have a rule in our home. No running in the house! I admit with some pride that I am very good at keeping this rule. In fact I can keep this rule for months even beyond the confines of our home. Our boys, well not so much. Boys will be boys, and we have boys who are great at being boys. But they do not aspire to greatness when it comes to the rules, esecially not that rule.

It is not an arbitrary rule. It is not a rule I created so that I could practice projecting my voice whenever the rule is broken. Though plenty of practice I do get. Rather this is a rule with a purpose. It is there to ensure our neighbours in the downstairs apartment don’t move out. They are as quiet as church mice. In comparison the boys in full tilt sound like a herd of elephants. Now just imagine if I didn’t keep the rule! You see the rule is not just a rule. It is an expression of value.

When it comes to the Bible, I find that there are many who don’t like the Old Testament, harbouring the sentiment “too many rules – and not rules relevant to me. We’d rather have Jesus and know God through the New Testament.”. But would Jesus be impressed with that attitude? Certainly we tend to like being the centre of attention, but would Jesus be comfortable with us discarding the Old Testament so that we can focus solely on Him?

Let us turn again to the Sermon on the Mount and those examples Jesus gives on righteouness that surpasses that of the Pharisees. Some might conclude that Jesus is turning us away from the Old Testament and its traditions when in Matthew five he says repeatedly “you have heard it said, but I say . . .”. But is he? Instead of murder, deal with anger. Instead of lawsuits, reconcile. Instead of looking for legal loopholes to get out of a marriage, get into it. Instead of special oaths, now just be honest always. Look more closely and it becomes clear that Jesus is not turning us away from the rules of the Old Testament at all, but from a wooden understanding of them. He is turning us from a righteousness like that of the Pharisees with its obsession with knowing and keeping the rules, and turning us toward a surpassing righteousness that is obsessed instead with knowing and pleasing God the Father. Same rules, different outcome.

Far from turning us away from the Old Testament, Jesus sends us deeper into the Old Testament, so that we may know God better, learning His values, His heart. Perhaps a paraphrase will help: “You have heard it said, ‘keep the Old Testament rules given about murder, oaths, divorce etc. and the things God does not want you to do’, but I say ‘from the Old Testament rules, realize the heart, desire, and values of the One who gave you them and be the kind of people He wants you to be’. It goes much deeper than mere obedience. And it goes much deeper into the Old Testament.

Furthermore, Jesus also includes in his examples one that shows a misunderstanding of Old Testament law: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’” Matthew 5:43 (ESV). To say that tradition missed a crucial teaching of the Old Testament is an understatement. In fact the Old Testament teaches that God has a plan to reach all nations through Israel (see Genesis 12:1-3), which includes their enemies! Furthermore the main point of the book of Jonah is that God loves our enemies! Jesus is not taking us away from the Old Testament, but to a better understanding of it when he says “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matthew 5:44,45 (ESV). We don’t love our enemies to become sons, we love to show that we are sons, that there is a family resemblence to God our Father. In other words we love our enemies just as He loves our enemies. And we know He does because the Old Testament teaches us that He does.

So in conclusion. For us to say that we love Jesus and the New Testament, but have no time for the Old Testament, well, if we are following Jesus, he himself leads us to reconsider the importance of the it. God has not changed. He reveals Himself in both Testaments. Even though we do not “keep” the Old Testament code as Christians, we seek to emulate and please our Heavenly Father, and those “old” rules give us a great glimpse into His heart and how we can do just that.

(adapted from a sermon July 2011)

 

Sermon Bit: On Christian Extremism

We live in a time and place where extremes are fashionable.  There are extreme sports, extreme adventures, extreme makeovers and extreme home makeovers.  Looking at myself in a mirror, I should likely look into extreme sports, though my wife would probably prefer I look into the home makeover!  We often will see products advertised as “extreme” as if taking something to an extreme makes it extremely good.There is one place though where the word “extreme” is seen as extremely negative.  In our pluralistic culture, any religious view is seen as having a place, but every religious view is seen as dangerous if it is taken to an extreme.  We hear of extremist Muslims, extremist Christians, extremist whatever, it does not matter, it gets bad press.  And the fear factor that draws people to extreme sports and adventures becomes a fear factor that keeps people away from extreme expressions of faith.I have tended to agree with the general frustration with extremist religion.  Much of it makes you either shudder in horror or shake your head in disbelief.  And though a Christian, I may run from the label “extremeist Christian.”  Yet while expressions of extreme religion draw a reaction, these words from Jesus call for a response:  “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20 NIV).

A righteousness that surpasses that of the pharisees and teachers of the law must be extremist indeed!  These folk were the ‘fundamentalists,’ these were the ‘extremists’ in their day.  Any regular Canadian dropped into that time and place might want to turn and run the other way.  But Jesus does not leave that option open to us.  He calls us not to turn away from, but to catch up to and surpass the extremists in our righteousness.

And how do we do that?!  This does not refer to a righteousness that surpasses in quantity.  That’s not possible, and though some argue that Jesus is calling us to something impossible so that we will realise our sinfulness, I believe that here He is calling us to something we can and ought to do so we can start doing something about our sinfulness!  So how do we do it?  Let’s look to Jesus to find out!

In a story about Jesus (found in Luke 6), the Pharisees and teachers of the law were watching Jesus to see if he would heal on the Sabbath.  I’m sure they were hoping he would, for then they would have proof that Jesus is breaking the law by breaking the Sabbath.  I’m sure the man with the withered hand in the story was also hoping Jesus would heal on the Sabbath, but for different reasons altogether!  Both groups get what they hoped for and Jesus goes forward with the healing, but not before asking a question: “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or destroy it?”  The righteousness of the Pharisees and teachers of the law fell short because while they took obedience to the rules to the extreme, that’s all they did.  In this case and others, Jesus went beyond them in His righteousness, creatively thinking with a God tuned heart, doing, not what religion has required in a rule book, but what God has desired in a person’s life, and in the world.  We are called to do likewise.

Jesus calls us to an extreme righteousness, to be extremist in our following of Him.  We can look to the rest of his words in Matthew five to see further examples of extreme and surpassing righteousness.  Never mind just keeping a rule about murder, we are to take extreme measures in our efforts to reconcile with others (Matthew 5:21-26).  Never mind about just keeping a rule about adultery, we are to take faithfulness to our spouse to an extreme (Matthew 5:27-30).  Never mind about just keeping the rules about divorce, we are to be extremely keen to keep covenant promises (Matthew 5:31-32).  Never mind about just following rules regarding oaths, we are to be extremely honest (Matthew 5:33-37).  Never mind about just keeping the rules about justice, we are to be an extremely merciful people (Matthew 5:38-42), and never mind about just doing what love requires you to do, and just for whom you are required to do it, take love to an extreme, in its depth, and breadth (Matthew 5:43-48).  A righteousness that surpasses isn’t just about being just with regard to the rules, it is about creatively thinking with God tuned hearts.  This is what it means to be an extremist Christian.

There is a great fear in our culture today of anyone that you might label an ‘extremist Christian.’  Yet we cannot escape the fact that Jesus calls us to a righteousness that is extreme.  We cannot escape the fact that Jesus went to extreme measures when He went to the cross.  And He calls us to pick up our crosses and follow Him.  Extreme measures indeed.  Are you and I ready to be extremists?

(modified from a sermon preached in July)

 

The Three R’s of the Christian Faith

I have decided I do not like grade three math. I cannot remember if I did like it when I was in grade three, but I know I do not like it now. I did not think that math could change, and it probably has not, but something has changed. And it is not that I can not find the answers, my problem these days is figuring out the questions. Most nights I help my three boys with their homework. Some nights I am not much help to them, especially not in Grade three math!

Whether we like math or not, we recognize that it is one of the three R’s of school. And whether we think courses in all manner of topics are worthy of a school curricula or not, we tend to all agree that the three R’s should be there. This got me to thinking, might there be three R’s that are central for the Christian faith? I’ve come up with a number of R’s that you might find if you look at Christian churches in Canada. It would be an interesting exercise to pick out those that we would consider central to the Christian faith. So here’s the list to consider:

Relevance: Some Christians ask “how can we make churches relevant to our culture today?” while others chime in with “how can we make Christianity itself, and the gospel relevant to our culture today?”

Religion: Some experience Christianity as a very religious thing. They might say “Keep the rules and traditions and no one gets hurt.”

wRetched: (ok, I know it does not begin with an ‘r’, but neither does ‘writing’ or ‘arithmetic’!) “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:6 KJV

Righteousness: “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” NIV Matthew 5:20

Rest: “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you.” Deuteronomy 5:12 NIV. And there is another kind of rest: It sometimes happens that having poured hours of research and work into a sermon, it has been of great benefit to someone by helping them get much needed shut-eye. Always wanting to be helpful!

Rescue: In light of recent newspaper articles on today’s youth abandoning the institutional church, (of course I’d like to chime in with a comment on the institutional church abandoning today’s youth), some are already asking “how can we rescue our churches from obscurity and closure?”

Rebellion: For some, Christianity exists to ensure conformity, keeping people from rebellion. Some of us would contend that Jesus calls us to rebellion, in fact that any youth in today’s society that is following Jesus is the true rebel of our day.

Rust: Some might say that this thing we call the Christian church is past its due date Others say otherwise! “ And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” Matthew 16:18 NIV

Regular: “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” Hebrews 10:25 NLT Of course I am also reminded about the day we got mixed up and served prune juice instead of grape juice for communion!

Wrath: “God is a righteous judge, a God who expresses his wrath every day.” Psalm 7:11 NIV

Reconciliation: “For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” Romans 5:10-11 NIV

Remembrance: “The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 1 Corinthians 11:23b-24 NIV

The Real Jesus: Some contend that the ‘real’ Jesus was not the divine/human Jesus we read about in the New Testament, but a man and teacher whom the church later deified. Some of us contend that the ‘real’ Jesus is the Jesus we find in the New Testament. Furthermore, what we find in the New Testament is not the creation of a Jesus myth, but a real response to the Jesus who was, is, and is to come.

Resurrection: “He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying.” Matthew 28:6 NLT

Response: “Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’” John 20:28-29 NIV

The Rest of the Story: There is much more yet to come, for past generations who have died, for future generations who have yet to live!

Royalty: “On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords.” Revelation 19:16 NLT

Relationship: Jesus says “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20 NIV

I’m not sure if we can settle on three R’s, but looking at the list, one thing I know for certain; Easter points the way to the most important R’s ever!

 

Is Being a Christian Good For Your Health?

(This post was written for January’s Glebe Report which is focussed on health and wellness)

There is no doubt that spirituality can have a big impact on one’s health and wellness.  Consider Christmas, which has just passed as I write this.  Christmas to those of us who call ourselves Christian is the time of year we celebrate the birth of Jesus.  Christmas, a time which brings families together, a time for good will and a focus on peace, hope, joy, and love.  Of course Christmas also means extra stress, extra food, and extra spending which leads to extra stress which leads to extra food which of course requires extra spending.  So even the celebration of Christmas can add to our health and well being or diminish it.

You can make a strong case that Christianity is good for one’s health.  The Christian worldview is one which is filled with hope.  Of course there is the hope for eternity with a God who loves us.  But we also have great hope for a world gone wrong, a hope that we can do better right here, right now.  Our Lord taught us to pray, “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  When people turn from foolishness to wise living, this is good for the health of the entire community.  Hope is healthy.  So is repentance!

We can see also that Christianity is good for our health when we look at the Christian ethic.  For example, there are high standards in truth and integrity. This is healthy.  There are high standards in self-control.  There is a solid ethic of work, charity, and volunteerism.  These are healthy.  There is a high view of marriage and a strong ethic with regards to sexuality.  Nothing will protect us from STDs and broken relationships better than keeping body parts for one’s spouse.  This is true even if we don’t happen to have a spouse.  Oh, I can hear the labels now crying “pastor, you are too old fashioned.”  Perhaps I am ‘old fashioned’ but I do think God’s onto something.  Oh I can also hear the dissent “pastor, I don’t see Christians living with this healthy ethic.”  Maybe so, but again repentance is healthy.

Of course there are times and places where being a Christian is bad for your health.  It can get you imprisoned.  It can get you beaten.  It can get you killed.  Being Christ was not healthy for Jesus.  “Pick up your cross and follow me,” does not sound like “practice some form of spirituality and receive benefits to your own personal sense of health and wellness.”  Much spirituality today seems to be the latter.  Jesus calls us to the former.  Though at times that may not be great for our own personal health, the focus on self-sacrifice for the sake of others, even those undeserving, can and will lead us to a healthier society.

Is being a Christian good for your health?  Often yes, but let’s not forget that more importantly, following Jesus well is good for the health and well being of those around you!

 

The Question of Christmas

What is the true meaning of Christmas?  So many of the movies and tv shows we will be watching this season will be asking us to consider that very question, if not leading us to an answer. I usually find, however, that not much thought goes into what makes Christmas authentic. So here is another question we can consider for Christmas: what does an authentic Christmas look like?

As I write this, our church is gearing up for the second running of our annual “Walk Thru Bethlehem.”  While I remember the many positive reactions of people who took the tour last year, one comment I found kind of humorous: “Your portrayal of Christmas was quite authentic.”

Now on the one hand this was a big compliment as we converted our somewhat useless dirt floor basement space into two rustic scenes worthy of scenes from ancient times, or what we think ancient times were like.  Also, the live animals wandering around our courtyard gave the feeling that you really were at a stable.

But our portrayal of Christmas was not as authentic as it might have seemed. For starters, out of all our shepherds in the shepherd scene, only one was really shepherding – the rest were young boys in need of the shepherding skills of our main shepherd. Then there were our angels. My three boys, in taking after their father, were definitely not in line for wearing any kind of halo. They joined the shepherds, under the watchful eye of our shepherd! The angels were the girls from our Sunday School. I’m not sure how angelic our Sunday School teachers would say they normally are, but they did well! Our Mary outdoors (my wife) was far more concerned for the sheep getting too close for comfort, than the comfort of her newborn baby – which of course was more of a recently imported toy. Then there were the lamas. Yes, live animals are a feature of our “Walk Thru” but not having easy access to camels, lamas will do!  Never mind where they could be found when Jesus was born. So was it authentic? Or did people leave pondering the true meaning of Christmas?

Now I remember as a young lad setting for myself the New Year’s goal of reading through the Bible starting with the New Testament. I also remember being somewhat dismayed that starting in the Gospel of Matthew, I would have to read through all that Christmas stuff again when we had just spent a whole month thinking about it. To my surprise I was through the Christmas story in ten minutes and off into the life of a thirty-something Jesus. Then into Mark’s Gospel, where the Christmas story does not even get a mention. Then into Luke’s, where again ten minutes gets you past Christmas. Then into John’s Gospel where, like Mark, there is no mention of a baby Jesus, or a manger, or shepherds or wise men. And apart from Old Testament prophecies, that’s about it for the Christmas story in the Bible.

Interestingly, though Mark in his gospel account mentions nothing of the birth of Jesus, a full third of his work is dedicating to recording the final week of the life and teaching of Jesus leading up to his crucifixion and resurrection. It makes me wonder if when we set out to find the true meaning of Christmas we aren’t missing the mark. It makes Christmas an end in itself, it makes it a celebration with its own point, disconnected from the rest of the year and the rest of life. The story of Christmas in the Bible points beyond itself. We quickly move from baby Jesus, to a focus on an adult Jesus, with a sharp concentration on a dead Jesus and a celebratory lifting up  of a risen Jesus. The Biblical account does not stop there but goes on to invite us to consider a returning Jesus. So perhaps when we ask “what is the true meaning of Christmas?” we stop short of asking the question Christmas really points us to consider: “Who is Jesus and why should I know?”

My family and I want to wish you a Merry and Meaningful Christmas. I hope that you can take the time to join one of the Glebe church families for the many Christmas celebrations on offer.  I pray that you will ask the questions Christmas points us to.

 

What Caterpillars Do Best

I’ve been quiet on the blog recently – so I thought I had better do something while I collect my thoughts to write another article for the Glebe Report, assuming I can get some thoughts together of course!  So here is a children’s story I wrote while in Pembroke as a children’s moment for church.  Blame it on having wee’uns!

What Caterpillars Do Best.

“Are you going to start your cocoon yet?” June asked her baby brother Joe one fine day.

“I’m not sure I want to make a cocoon,” replied Joe.  “I’m not sure what I want to do, but I know I do not want to make a cocoon.”

“But you have to make a cocoon,” replied June, “It’s what we are created to do.  It’s what we caterpillars do best.”

“But,” Joe replied, “I’m not sure it’s what I want to do best . . . in fact it is what I want to do least!”

 

Joe was walking in the park looking for his friends when he saw something he had never seen before.  At first he was a curious, so he got closer to this new creature to have a look.  It was black and long and had wings.  Joe started to count the wings. One, two, three, four wings.

“It’s a dragonfly,” said Freddie, one of Joe’s friends who had come along.  “Are you ready to start building your cocoon?” asked Freddie.

Joe didn’t answer but watched in amazement as the dragonfly leapt up into the air and was gone.

“I do not want to build a cocoon” said Joe to his friend.

“But you have to make a cocoon,” replied Freddie, “It’s what we do.  It’s what we caterpillars do best.”

“But,” said Joe, “I do not want to build a cocoon, and besides, I now know what I really want to do.”

“Oh, what’s that?” asked Freddie.

“I want to fly!”

 

Joe knew that all his caterpillar friends had busied themselves building cocoons, but he also knew that he wanted to do something different.  Cocoons were ok. if you wanted to sleep your life away, thought Joe, but they were not for him.  No, he did not want to sleep, he wanted to fly.  And so he set himself to building something for himself.  No, not a cocoon like all his friends, but a set of wings so that he could fly.  “Yep, they will be amazed” he thought “when they wake up from all that silly sleeping, and look up to see me flying.”

 

And so Joe made himself wings from leaves.  His friends made cocoons.  Joe put his new wings on and flapped, and flapped, and flapped while his friends went into their cocoons and slept, and slept and slept.  Joe didn’t get off the ground at all.  So he made a new set of wings out of tree bark.  He put them on and flapped, and flapped, and flapped, and flapped while his friends slept, and slept, and slept.  Joe didn’t get off the ground at all.  So he made a new set of wings, in fact he made many new sets of wings out of every material possible and he flapped and flapped and flapped, while his friends slept and slept and slept.  But Joe never got off the ground.

 

Then one day, Joe’s friends woke from their sleep.  Joe watched in amazement as his friends, one by one, left their cocoons, unfolded their beautiful wings and flew off into the air.  Joe put down his latest set of wings that he was building out of paper and started building a cocoon.  After all, building cocoons is what caterpillars do best.