My Favorite Advent Song

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

I say favorite Advent song as today is the last day of Advent. This song just screams to me the advent (coming) of Jesus. What a haunting and sad time this song reflects. What a waiting. And yet, a build toward the chorus.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel (God with us) shall come to thee o Israel (Humanity).

I love it. Rejoice ye weary sinners. Rejoice for God is coming. He is coming to dwell amongst you. He cares for you and will restore you.

Tomorrow...my favorite Christmas song.

Ecclesiastes 9:3

It seems so tragic that one fate comes for all. That is why people are not more careful to be good. Instead, they choose their own mad course, for they have no hope. There is nothing ahead but death anyway.

Proverbs 16:7

"When a man's ways are pleasing to the LORD,
he makes even his enemies live at peace with him."

I love it. My initial interpretation is that rather than retaliate, love cleverly.

How Did That Happen?

Listening to Tony Campolo's messages on Megachurches has really challenged me.

http://www.tonycampolo.org/podcast/tonycampolo_podcast.xml

He has overall really defended this way to do church. One of the things he has hit on is that mainline denominations say megachurches are entertaining and that's how they get people to come. His response is fascinating and I really enjoy it.

I paraphrase:

Since when is being boring a virtue? As long as Jesus is preached, and preached consistently, people will get to hear about him. If a church is entertaining and doesn't mention Jesus, then that's a different story. But if you can be entertaining and get people to hear the Gospel, then why not?

On top of that, he has wondered a fantastic thought (again, paraphrased).

How did we take the most compelling message in history, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and make it boring. Something that we just sorta talk about. It is exciting!

Challenging thoughts from a man who isn't scared to speak his mind.

A couple of links

Both of these links are to fairly long articles (at least longer than a 140 character tweet). They are definitely worth reading though.

The God of technology, or the god of Technology?
An article discussing how we are to use tech as a tool and not an object of our affection. I can see this as super helpful to me, so that I don't turn to my phone when I'm around people, but use it to connect with people when I'm not around them, etc.

The Case for Early Marriage
An interesting perspective that doesn't solely involve the 'young and horny and protecting chastity' argument for early marriage. Also great thoughts on marriage as a whole and the way we teach abstinence, but not the value of marriage.

Jesus and his short time: a thought

In my readings of scripture, I don't get the impression Jesus spent a lot of time discussing what the Hebrew means here vs. the Greek there in the scriptures. I don't get the impression he spent a lot of time discussing the science of salvation. I don't get the impression he spent a ton of time discussing the nature of existence or transubstantiation or how to run a contemporary worship service.

God didn't come into the world to say "Hey, this part of scripture means that!" Instead, God came into the world to redeem it and explain the simplicity of that message. It is a fulfillment of the law, not a re-clarification of the law, but a fulfillment.


I'm sure there is something wrong or confusing about my thought here, but I wanted to get it down before I forgot it while falling asleep.

Jesus didn't come to be a scholar, but a savior.

Worship and Our Fellow Man

Track with me on this (it is a developing string of thoughts) and let me know what you think.

A)
1)We are made to worship
2) We worship things we see *perversion of true worship*
3) We assign to them divine status
4) These things fall short and break under the pressure of the worship
B)
1) We are made to have worth
2) When we find worth, we can become worshiped *perversion of true validation*
3) When we are worshiped, we can denounce it, or acknowledge it
4) We will crack under the pressure of being worshiped and help to perfection
C)
1) We are made in God's image
2) We are made to worship God
3) Perversion of worship leads to us worshiping things that could replace God
4) Therefore, we worship each other

Tomorrow

"So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring it's own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today"

- Jesus

Just listening to a co-worker talk about how she is so close to retirement but how much she hates her job breaks my heart. But she can't quit yet because she'd lose out on a pension and be short on collecting Social Security. This, to me, highlights how America's system can potentially lead us to disregard the advice/commands of our creator. Not that planning is bad. I am not trying to suggest that. I am saying that we put ourselves through undue hardship worrying about tomorrow. Perhaps less focus on retirement and more on today's impact is the focus we must have. For me, this means realizing I am at Ameren today and this is the work the Lord has put before me today.

Note: I just got the BlogPress app for my iPhone so I can blog a bit more off the cuff because I just have not been writing since I started work. So my posts will be more often, but also more 'thought' than 'statement.' I still hope to put out logical ideas and truths that are challenging to me and others. Good Tuesday to you all!

Escapist

Maybe this is obvious, but we are escapists. America is running.

We run from debt by creating credit.
We run from families by staying late at work.
We run from real manly relationships with sports.
We run from real feminine relationships with gossip.
We run from pain with substances.
We run from deep thoughts with shallow ones.
We run from poverty with the suburbs.
We run from our own home life with sitcoms.
We run from the sting of death by respawning in video games.
We run from the reality of pain by making it distant in CSI, and news about the Third World.
We run from personal interactions with emails and texts.
We run from eye contact with others with smartphones.
We run from our own death with anything that will allow us.
We run from the inconvenience of a child with abortion and birth control.
We run from a personality to a social status with a nice car.
We run from our consequences.

These are some fairly fresh thoughts, but I strongly believe we will do almost anything to escape reality. We have numbed ourselves to a reality that is right in front of us. And I do not consider myself somehow innocent.

Now, I feel that anyone that knows I am a believer of Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah could easily say that my faith is an escape as well. That my belief in Jesus is just a comfort for death and a way to impose my thoughts on others. And heck, I'm sure you have awesome philosophical, psychological, economic, and sociological arguments for why I am wrong. I'd actually love to hear them, as I am truly trying to understand what we are running from and what it is ok to dwell in.

I disagree though, that faith in Christ is a form of escape. It can be. We can get caught up in dogma, theology, and color of the pews. However, I believe the Jesus of the Bible and an authentic faith in him works towards not ignoring death and pain, but rather staring it in the face.

Not that all of these things I mention are inherently evil, but...We must not serve two masters (God and money; God and television; God and whatever may be your idol). Jesus is the master and we must live in the weight of a reality that is largely beyond our control. Let's not escape it, but run directly to it to learn what it is. This includes studying things that I just said we run to with theology and science and philosophy. I think these are good things to delve into, as they will reveal the nature of humanity as much as we can see, and I believe will open us to the nature of God all the more. The problem always come when we make them our God and ignore God by studying them.

God and the Cubs, physics, philosophy, family, and television can coexist. Just make sure you recall the most important.

Currents

From my photo collection of the coast of Maine (summer 08)

Lately, I've been reading the book "Life of the Beloved" by Henry Nouwen, which has been a great read. He is a very plain writer who tackles heavy issues with simple and profound language.

One image he really created wonderfully for me was the way he described the soul as an ocean. The major players in the movement of an ocean are the undercurrents and the winds around the surface. Both can be strong, and both can create waves. Nouwen suggests that our convictions, the undercurrents, must be so strong, that they are what creates the waves in our lives. This is in opposition to having currents that vacillate and don't build momentum to change things. In this case, the winds can be strong enough to create waves. These waves are created from an external source. Nouwen insists that our waves must be created from inside.

This imagery was really powerful to me, especially as I hit the real world running. My convictions become even more my own and I must really allow them to control me and have them only be transformed by the most powerful of forces. I pray that the winds of the world may not whip me into a frenzy, but that instead I may be steadfast.

Relating the Eucharist to the Passover

While listening to a John Piper sermon from his podcast, he mentioned that lambs in Jesus' time had two purposes. They were meant for slaughter or to be eaten. He then went on to say, when the writers of Scripture called Jesus the "Lamb of God", they meant he was to be slaughtered. This was a sacrifice offered to God, much in the same way actual lambs were sacrificed to God for atonement. This sacrifice was the ultimate one for the atonement of all peoples. He didn't take it any further though. For me, this was interesting.

If we are to relate the sacrifice of Jesus to a new passover, meaning he is a new sacrificial lamb, we must look at this situation as a whole. During the Passover of the Old Covenant, the lamb was sacrificed and then eaten by the believers. This was a time to share in the sacrifice together and eat of the lamb. What does this mean for the new Paschal Lamb? Let's look at it in the context of this passage

53Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever." 59He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

- John 6:53-59

After Jesus says this, some followers leave him because of the difficult teaching. He doesn't ask them to come back, saying "Hey! Hold up. That was just a metaphor." It seems that we must not just let the Lamb be slaughtered, but eat of him as well. This is an interesting point as we look at what the sacrament/practice of communion is.

From all of this, I would argue that communion is not just a symbol. It is far more and must be held with a level of reference. In fact, I would go as far as to say that Jesus is present in the Eucharist. This is not to go as far as to say that the doctrine of Transubstantiation is believable to me, but it does mean that Jesus is in communion and we must eat of it and know what it is. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:29

For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.

However, when St. Thomas Aquinas developed Transubstantiation, I believe he tried to explain something that cannot be explained. Instead, the mystery of communion will be preserved by God. Perhaps this is confusing to some of you and to others it is very clear, but I'd love to hear thoughts if you have any.

Feeling Catholic

This past weekend, I went on a retreat with Newman Hall here on campus at the U of I. I really haven't done much with Newman in the last couple years, as after I moved out, I would go to Mass and that is about it. My involvement with Illini Life has really been my spiritual community. Throughout my spiritual walk I have felt more Roman Catholic or Non-Denominational. This week, after the retreat, I feel quite Catholic. It is a neat place to be. In all honesty, this retreat was the first time I felt like I'd seen a devotion to Christ and a devotion to Community in the same place in the Catholic church and I've felt part of it. There are times when I've seen one, the other, or both and not been a part of it, but this was a good experience for me.

The theme of the weekend was God's Divine Mercy. The painting above was inspired by Jesus in a vision to one Saint Faustina. It represents God's mercy. The red is the blood of Christ spilt out for our sins and the white is the water that washes us clean. I'm really glad that I went on this retreat. It was truly a blessing and God helped me work through a lot of things. Now, this isn't to say that I'm going to jump into anything specific, but it was a great way for me to balance my life.

OTHER THOUGHTS:

Alan got a job offer this week. He has to decide by Friday. Stressful much? This offer is with an engineering company. I'll let those that care know in a while when a decision is made. I did have this thought presented to me today though...

Our very word "decide" comes from the Latin decidere which means "to cut off."

Something must be cut off in my life this week. Some dream of a future, some possibility. It must be pruned away so other dreams can flourish more readily.

The Dark Night of the Soul

In my circles, this phrase, the "dark night of the soul," refers to a time when we are stuck, feeling lonely in the middle of the night, or in a time when our soul feels covered in darkness. It had been used to describe loneliness. How limited the English language is though, that we would only see this interpretation.

The phrase actually emerges from St. John of the Cross, and it is a poem that he wrote in the 16th century. While listening to a podcast today, it was brought to my attention that this writing is more about John's time at night with God and how powerful and good an experience it was. Perhaps this thought process needs to be looked at more. Jesus often withdrew to lonely places while it was still dark, and I think there is a seriously amazing connection that can be made with God through the quite and still of the night. It also can be the time when the best conversations are had, and in many ways, I think it ends up being a double edged sword time. Yes, night is a time in which scary and evil things happen, but it is also a time for potentially fantastically forming times with Our Father and each other.

So, in this light, I really do look forward to more dark nights of my soul.

Gradumication

So, I got a letter today from the University informing me of my ability to graduate in December and that if I wanted to walk in the ceremony, I needed to sign up soon. Anyway, that is just one more thing making this whole graduating thing quite the reality. OH, and why does it cost an arm and a leg to rent a gown? I could buy a blue sheet for a lot cheaper...

Other News

Watched the presidential debate. I feel pretty confident that with either man in the White House, that I will still wake up the next day and hope that God is working in my life. I can't speak completely as to who was better in the debate though...I guess I'm more of a political outsider (LOL), because I thought it was close, but polls suggest Obama easily won. How do you win a debate? It shouldn't be based upon eloquence, but issues...right?....right??

In the Summers Home Fellowship (my church small group) we are reading a Psalm a day for the next 14 days. The first Psalm was read today. I'll try to at least comment on them so I have some practice thinking about them and writing about them over the course of these two weeks.

Totally Off the Cuff

In the midst of this 'financial crisis,' does anybody see the potential analogy between Barack Obama and FDR...

On a more thought out mindsent, I am somewhat excited about this crisis. It means that we must start to question our faith in our government and economy. These two things will never be able to fully satiate our thirsts. They sure help us, but they are within this world, and will ultimately let us down. I hope the imagery and truth from this situation with our economy opens a lot of eyes to the truth about our condition as humanity...

LHC Rap

The Fall Retreat

The Summers HF - Goofy, originally uploaded by | Orthogonal Photography |.

This past weekend was the Illini Life Christian Fellowship Fall Retreat. Tammi Smith, the speaker for the retreat, was a fantastic educator and was really able to bear her heart for us all in a way that affected many people. We had a really cool group of new people come with us on the retreat as well. This picture is of the all of us posing at the end for a goofy group pic. This group has really become quite the family for me (outside of my real family) and I can't wait to see how God blesses this group.

The retreat topic was "Now and Forever" and it focused on the wounds in our past and the lies they make us believe now as well as the habits we have now and how they will affect our future actions. Now, there was a lot more depth to the weekend, and hopefully I can get some more thoughts after I look at the notes some more.

Brandon Heath

I, as of late, have had a love-hate relationship with Christian music. The musical styling has tended to be, in my opinion, stale and a bit too much like late 90's pop. So I find it interesting to be writing about Brandon Heath.

For whatever reason, in my mind, this artist seems like a guy who has a unique enough styling to stand apart. Now, this is going off of just 2 songs of his that I have, and 1 more that I've heard on the radio. They have a certain moving nature to them that really builds throughout a song, and for me, it is good enough to listen to.

The song "Give Me Your Eyes" has had the epic feel as I've work it out on my iPod. I recently (read: today) saw the music video for this song and found it equally powerful (am I cheesy...maybe). This screams James 2 to me. And not just for the monetarily poor, but those of us who are needy, those of us who are "poor in spirit"

5 Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him? 6 But you dishonor the poor! Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court? 7 Aren’t they the ones who slander Jesus Christ, whose noble name you bear?

8 Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 9 But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law.

So consider checking out more of Mr. Heath, as I know I will. And let us really learn to slow down and love. Because we are accelerating past not only our lives, but the lives of those in need.

Brandon Heath - Give Me Your Eyes from Brandon Heath on Vimeo.

The Cultural Christian

I started to re-read Romans today, as the last time I read it through was quite a while ago. It really is a fantastic book, laden with different facts, ideas, etc. As I read today, this passage really stuck out to me...

For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the Jewish ceremony of circumcision. No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not a cutting of the body but a change of heart produced by God's Spirit. Whoever has this kind of change seeks praise from God, not from people.

-Romans 2:28-29, NLT

Now, I'd be willing to guess, if Paul were alive today, and writing his Epistle to the Americans, it might go something like this

For you are not a true Christian just because you were born of Christian parents or because you have gone through the Christian ceremony of baptism. No, a true Christian is one whose heart is right with God. And true baptism is not an immersion in water, but a change of heart produced by immersion in God's Spirit. Whoever has this kind of change seeks praise from God, not from people.

-American 2:28-29, speculative

I know I can be guilty of just assuming that if I call myself a Christian, that it works as a cover all for me and my life sometimes. Perhaps I need to check and make sure that my life, as well as my heart, are in line with God. I think this is good advice for a nation that calls itself Christian and goes to church because it is 'what we do.' Let us change our hearts...

The Equipment

Today, in my first Mass at the St. John's Catholic Newman Center on campus, the sermon from father Greg Ketcham really caught my ear.

The scripture that he had to speak on is some of the most powerful scripture I know.

Romans 12:1-2
Matthew 16:21-27

He then spoke on how important it is to have our focus on the Resurrection. I think that is so easy to forget as I get caught up in performance for the church.

He also quoted C.S. Lewis, which is almost always a good idea, and in this case, especially so. He quoted this in reference to the idea that it can be difficult to see God or experience God.

Unfortunately I did not get the quote exactly, and I didn't look too hard for it, but at its root, Lewis is saying that the sun shows no favorites, it just shines better in a clean mirror than in a dusty one. We are the instruments through which we see God and there is some work to be done for us to best experience and see God.

I love this idea, especially when combined with the idea of spiritual discipline and putting ourselves in the best situations to experience God. Now, some days may be cloudy and the sun will be hard to see regardless, but we must be prepared when the sun does shine, to reflect it as well as we can.