Advent Calendar Day 4

Terrified.  We read this story each year as a sweet, pastoral example of the message of God coming to the poorest of the people.  Terrified.  The shepherds were minding their own business--the sheep--one sleepy night.  Some were probably pondering life while others were preparing to bed down for the evening.  Perhaps there were some who had already drifted off to sleep.  Then BAM, angels.  They were not merely startled or honored or curious as we sometimes portray, but terrified (frightened, horrified, scared, petrified, shocked, panicked, alarmed—scared stiff!)  I think of all the ways people who are afraid respond in fear.  I suppose they could have whipped out their slingshots and began firing at the light of the Lord.  They could have run away, leaving their sheep and responsibilities.  Perhaps they could not respond with either fight or flight because they were scared motionless.  Adrenaline coursing through their veins, but their muscles were rebelling against them.

We live in a world of terror.  Terrorism seems to be such a talked about topic that it has become a caricature of what terror is actually.  The media, pundits, and politicians whip people into a frenzy—an irrational, foolish, crazy-people-run-amok frenzy.  The talking heads tell us who to be afraid of, who to blame, who to fight, who to flee, but not how to have calm, how to have peace, how not to be afraid.  The purpose of terrorism is to incite terror.  For terrorism to win, we must be terrified and live out that terror in our actions and relationships with one another.  All those who stir up this fear in the public (media, politicians, religious folks, others) are terrorists—in that they promote terror. 

Those things we do to protect ourselves, are often the very things that wind up hurting us the most.  Those safety mechanisms, like closing ourselves off from others or refusing to help others, end up doing more damage to our spirit—our souls—than any possible physical damage that is unlikely to happen anyway.  We are terrified, and so we respond, often without thought as to the long-term consequences.  But this is not the way God created us to live.  God created us to be in community with one another, even those we do not know at all or very well.  God created us to live out the example of Christ in caring for the least, the last, the lost, the marginalized.

As long as we are scared and reactionary, our fear gets the better of us.  Did you know the opposite of faith is not doubt, but fear?  Fear grips us and keeps us from fulfilling the life we have in Christ as children of God.  We either want to fight at things that we cannot possibly see or engage, or we want to run from our responsibilities and soothe our souls by telling ourselves the world isn’t our responsibility.  Or we are scared stiff, motionless, unable to do anything right or wrong, and so we do nothing. 

The shepherds could not respond to the message of the angels if they hid in their fearful and closed off cocoons.  They would not have witnessed the birth of the one to save their people.  They would have hidden away, never living out the potential God had for them.

How do you hide from the things that you fear?  Do you give your fears to God?  Or do you cling to them like a security blanket, telling yourself that worry is what keeps the worst at bay?  This Advent, how can you move from reacting in fear to stepping out in faith to the message of God?

Advent Calendar Day 3

Joseph was told that his fiancé, Mary, was to have a baby.  Enough of a startling revelation as it was, but to be visited by an angel who tells you this child is the promised coming Messiah is almost too much.  I think of the emotions swirling about in Joseph’s mind.  After all, any ordinary man would have a mixture of such emotions—the internal adjustments you make as you process in your mind and heart that 1.) your fiancé whom you have not yet been intimate is pregnant; 2.) you realize, perhaps by surprise, that your love and compassion outweighs your need to save face; 3.) that this child who isn’t yours is to be raised by you; 4.) that this child is the promised one of God, who will save you from your sin.  You would feel—what, doubt and skepticism, fear and worry, overwhelmed, joyful, sorrowful—this is almost too much for anyone to grasp. 

Yet Joseph, a good man who wants to do right by his promise, has the very human idea of distancing himself from the entire situation; not to extract vengeance as was his right and not to play the wounded lover, but to simply, quietly, give her back to her family and call the whole thing off.  She and her family can deal with repercussions of the situation.  But, that is not the way God wants it to be.  He is to marry her, care for her and the child, and all of this knowing that this child may indeed be the anointed one of God who would come to save Israel.  Could you be this obedient in the face of personal humiliation?

Good men, truly good men, the kind with ethics and morals that are uncompromising and true are hard to come by.  It is as difficult for today’s men to live up to the Captain America standard (manly, brave, a moral compass that points true north, looks good in a costume), as it is for women to live up to the Proverbs 31 woman (in charge of the home, makes her husband and kids look good, while still having her own career).  I think, however, Joseph was not some illusive image of a good man, but truly one who shows mercy, loves justice, and in spite of the emotions that follow, walks with God humbly.  Are you a Joseph kind of person?  One who simply does what you believe to be right quietly and without fanfare, without seeking your rights, but rather protecting the rights of others.  I think Joseph is a good example for all of us—male and female—this season of Advent when there is so much going on in the world that gives us the opposite understanding of what is right and wrong.  

Advent Calendar Day 2

Have you ever had someone say something to you that seems like an odd thing to say?  Perhaps it was someone who mentioned a gift or quality you have that you didn’t think anyone else noticed?  Maybe it was about something you were feeling led to do, but had not told anyone else?  Perhaps, someone said a comment out of the blue to you, something you had never thought of before, and when they said it, you knew it was something important to you and you could think of nothing else?  Mary had that kind of experience.

The angels of the Bible always say something to the effect of “do not be afraid,” or “fear not.”  A visit from a messenger from God tends to rattle us—maybe even startle us.  It definitely shakes up our world—our routine—and we find we are never the same again.  It is of significant importance to us, and we should never simply write it off as all our imagination.  Quite often we are visited by “angels” who inspire us, affirm us, encourage us, and guide us.  God uses all types of people to bring us God’s message. 

This Advent let us be watching for those “angels” God sends our way.  We should also watch for those opportunities and inspiration when we convey a message from God and are an angel to another.

Advent Calendar - Day 1

You do not need to be afraid of the dark to know that you can injure yourself if you are unable to see.  Stumbling around in the dark is slow-going.  There are obstacles and pitfalls.  When the electricity goes out, especially if there is a blackout in the neighborhood and no streetlights to shine into the windows, we realize that the dark is very, very dark. 

The dark can feel oppressive, even heavy.  It is always such a comfort to light a candle, turn on a flashlight, or start a fire to bring light into the dark.  I have noticed on such occasions that in pitch blackness, the glow of even the smallest light can bring light to a wide area.  It is almost as if the light pours around the room, spilling over into the darkness. 

I have never been in a blackened room in which I have lit a candle or turned on a flashlight that the darkness spread into the light rather than the light into the darkness.  Darkness will not ever overcome the light.  When I light more candles and place them around the room the collective light chases the darkness into the recesses and corners.  Only a few shadows remain.  Shadows remain even in well-lit rooms, but the light chases the shadows around allowing no place for them to hide.

It is like that with the light of Christ.  There is darkness in the world, this is undeniable.  But the light of Christ spills over into the darkness, and the darkness of this world will never overcome this light.  We who bear the light of Christ multiply this light in the world, bringing light to even the darkest places. 

This Advent let us prepare ourselves to be bearers of the light of Christ to a world in darkness.

Reflections on the Half Century Mark

Today is my 50th birthday.  Also, today I had the honor and privilege of speaking to the senior high school girls at a tea hosted by the local Lion's Club.  It is a fun thing they do every year.  The girls dress up, eat finger sandwiches, and drink tea from real china cups.  Many of the girls have never had that opportunity before.

When I was first asked to speak, I noticed it was on my birthday, and that was part of what prompted my reflections for this post.  These girls are 18, give or take.  I was in their place 32 years ago.  There have been some major changes since 1983.  When I was a senior in high school, only a few took computer classes.  Now, it is part of the regular classes and elementary children know more than I did then.  The computing power they carry in their pocket is greater than the first computer which weighed 27 tons and took up a whole room. 

I reflected on what has happened in their lifetime, the events that to me were a brief period of time ago, and to them is history.  They were never really aware of a pre-9/11 U.S., and for them wars have always had ambiguous borders.

Women have always been allowed at the Virginia Military Institute and the Citadel.  There has always been WNBA and female referees have always been in the NBA.   While there has been great advancement in the way of women's rights, there is still a long way to go.

In the past fifty years the U.S. population has increased from 194 million to almost 319 million.  Life expectancy rose from 70 to 78.  The median family income has increased from $6,450 to around $52,000.  In 1965 a new house cost around $21,000, a loaf of bread was $.21, and a new car was around $2,650.

I have learned a few things in a half-century.

1.  Everyone needs a role model and a best friend.  You need a role model that is an example of what you are working toward.  This does not mean you are trying to copy someone else, or not be yourself, it just means that someone who is further down the road is giving you an example of the possibilities and how to get there.

It seems that the reason to have a best friend would be self-explanatory, but it isn't just for companionship, and it shouldn't just be anyone.  It should be someone that accepts you for who you are, where you are, but doesn't leave you there.  Someone that being around makes you a better person, and your presence in their lives encourages them to be better people as well.  Sometimes friends are lifetime friends, sometimes it is the season of life you are in that determines your friendship.

2.  Everyone needs to know themselves very well, and to look at themselves honestly.  Looking at yourself honestly means you recognize your strengths and your weaknesses.  You do not make excuses for mistakes, but learn from them.  You examine your goals and work toward them without apology.  You also need to remember that it is okay to make mistakes as long as you learn from them and you continue to grow as a person.

3.  You need to know how to say, "I'm sorry." You will make mistakes (see #2), and sometimes those mistakes will hurt another.  It is important to say, "I'm sorry."  But you should never apologize for being who you truly are, as long as you are truly trying to grow as a person.

4.  Speaking kindly to everyone will serve you well.  Treat others - all others - with respect.  Regardless of their or your station in life, regardless of whether or not you think they deserve your respect, always speak to others with respect. 

5.  Don't be so focused on the present, that you forget that decisions you make now will affect the future.  Don't be so focused on the future, that you forget to live in the present.  Don't be so focused on the past that you never move forward.  Your life is not a series of disconnected moments, but part of a continuum.  Things that happen today will have an impact on the life you have in the future. Make the most of your whole life, not just concentrating on short term happiness, but learning to be patient that there are great things to come.

These are just the top five musings for the half-century mark.