Advent Hijacked

My brother in law sent an email this week.  He was so moved by God and he wanted to share his thoughts.  It was actually thoughts he had written a couple of years ago in this season leading up to Christmas.
It was a song that made him slow down, even stop what he was doing, and pay attention.
He was flooded with the overwhelming reality of God's love.  He was blown away by the way God invaded his spirit and revealed truth.  The spirit of God took away his anxious thoughts and replaced them with gratitude, peace, praise and worship.
So beautiful.
And, it happened because he slowed down.  He stopped.  He became still.
How much do we miss because we have been lured by our enemy into busy, frantic, over-scheduled, anxious lives?
And how crafty is our enemy that we would spend the season of advent in a blur of non stop activity?  Most of us overwhelmed because we know we will never get everything done.  We are left with a gnawing feeling of regret and dissatisfaction.
Isn't there always one more person I could find a gift for?  Isn't there always one more incredibly worthy organization I could donate to, volunteer for, pray for?  Isn't there always one more tradition I could implement with my family so that treasured memories are created?
All good stuff - worthy of my thoughts and energy.
But, then I was listening to a podcast this week about our celebrations this time of year and how we came up with Advent.
The Celtics preceded the Christians in celebrating this time of year.  They acknowledged a time of darkness leading up to the winter solstice.  Christians related to this spiritually.  We waited in darkness for the light of the world to come.  So, we started to celebrate the birth of Jesus during this time.
Advent was to reflect the time of waiting, resting, knowing the days are long and dark, but anticipating the great light that would come!
So, each week one candle would be lit, until finally all of the candles were glowing and bringing light.
Celebration!
The end of waiting in the dark.
Remembering the gift that came into our world for us to experience eternal life, freedom, forgiveness, joy.  It's such a beautiful and simple celebration.
As in the Celtic tradition, we put up lights to cut through the darkest months of the calendar year to remind ourselves that the light comes.  And, we never get to Christmas, or the winter solstice, without first going through the dark months.  God created our seasons with a rhythm.  We never stay in a season of extended hours of light...it's a season.  And we never stay in a season of extended hours of darkness...it's a season.
Advent.
What a beautiful celebration.  Designed for us to acknowledge the natural rhythm of the earth, and to slow down and spend more time in reflection.  A time to rest in the certainty of our faith.  A time to receive the gifts we've been promised.  A time to anticipate and dream.
Wow.
Our enemy has completely hijacked Advent.  If it's not consumerism, which has reached nauseating levels of distraction, then it's frenetic activity like baking, prepping for parties, decorating, sending cards, hiding elves, finding the right sweater, etc.
And if you aren't busy, you're likely to experience feelings of loneliness and isolation and even depression as you compare your life to the seemingly full and exciting lives of those around you.
And, that's legit.  Because most all of the traditions and activities are good!  And feeling left out of the celebrating is not good.  But, man, the enemy has a way of stealing joy and peace.
Well, I personally choose to spend some time quietly resting in the dark, with the soft white lights illuminating the room.  Waiting on my God to be the light and the joy and the gifts and the love and the companion I'm desiring.
I pray that my friends can find time to do the same.

Freedom

The truth is too good for us to grasp. 
The good news is so good - we can't wrap our heads around it.
Grace is so radical and inclusive - we don't know how to speak of it.
John 8
32 You shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free
36 If the son sets you free, you are free indeed
Freedom is so outrageous, it might scare us a little.
Because, deep down, we're more comfortable as slaves.
We understand the boundaries of slavery.
As slaves, we have something to blame outside of ourselves.
We might be slaves to an institution with rules, boundaries, laws and clear lines we can't cross.
We might be slaves to things that repress us like the desire for approval, the desire for comfort and security, the desire to avoid hard things, etc.
We might be slaves to self, selfishness, self promotion and self preservation.
Freedom?
Freedom is a bit scary.
Where are the boundaries?
What are the rules and laws?
How do we know when too much is too much?
How do we measure if things are fair and just?
How do we maintain order and control?
How do we rule, govern, decide what's right/wrong, in/out, acceptable/unacceptable?
We don't.
We submit control to our King.  And we live FREE.
We don't get to control, judge, govern, and create the boundaries.
We live by the law of this Free Kingdom.
The law is this: Love.
That's it.
Love God.
Love Others.
Love God - respect, honor, submit to Him as good and trustworthy.
Love Others - treat every person as you would want them to treat you.
Freedom.
It's too beautiful for us.
We're drawn to slavery.
We want clear lines so we can judge ourselves and others.
Freedom is messy.
It requires more from us!
It's bigger.  It's outrageous.  It's love beyond our comprehension.
It stretches our hearts and minds to our limits, then asks us to stretch more.
Sin is when we choose slavery over freedom.
When we don't trust in freedom, but instead trust in something else.
I want FREEDOM.
I was created for it and the deepest part of me longs for it.
It's challenging and scary.  It's expansive.  It requires more of me.  It stretches my heart and mind.
I'm up for the challenge.

Dark Matter, Mystery and Faith

It really is interesting how much of the universe is made up of dark matter. According to Wikipedia, dark matter constitutes 84.5% of total mass, while dark energy plus dark matter constitutes 95.1% of total mass-energy content!  Dark matter has not been directly observed, possibly being made up of some undiscovered subatomic particles. The name refers to the fact that it does not appear to interact with observable electromagnetic radiation such as light, thus it's invisible or "dark". 

Interesting that in 1 John 1:5 God is referred to as light...and in him there is no darkness at all.

There are other scriptures that refer to God as the light or that contrast light as good and dark as evil or bad.  Some scripture refers to "the world" as being dark and in contrast to the light.

If we can only see, observe, witness about 5% of the universe, and the other 95% is unobservable to us, I'm not surprised that his world is referred to as dark and being ruled by dark.

What does that mean?  There is so much mystery...how dare we ever conclude that we have it all figured out?! We, as Christians, read our holy text of scripture to help us grasp an understanding of our creator, creation, love, plans and purposes, right and wrong, good and evil, hope for the future, and discovery of the past.  All well and good.  But, just as the universe is always expanding and growing and is comprised of 95% mysterious energy and matter, shouldn't we hold our truth in this light?  And how utterly moronic to attempt to describe such deep mystery in simplistic and even formulaic ways, as if it's all a simple equation we have figured out.  The equation gives us a sense of control I guess. We can do this.  We can, by our effort or mental acquiescence, be certain of our place in the universe.  Oh, and everyone else can to.  They just need to simply agree with us, repeat a prayer stating their agreement, and they can be certain too. Done!

Really?

Where's the mystery?  Have we left any room for honest contemplation , discovery, uncertainty, wonder?

The observable universe certainly is wondrous, beautiful, miraculous, complex, disturbing, perplexing, and an endless curiosity.  And, I do believe in our creator God written about in scripture.  And I do believe in the incarnation.  I believe Jesus the Christ was fully man and fully God. I do believe in the awesome mystery of the perfect relationship found in the Father, son and holy spirit.  I believe that Jesus gave us hope by overcoming the power of death through his literal bodily resurrection. I believe these things are truth, light, goodness and hope.  And I love the words recorded in our scriptures that help me draw closer to these truths.

But, I also allow for the fact that it's highly unlikely that my little realm of consciousness and collection of matter stuffed into my cranium contains all truth, certainty, and the language to describe it. I mean, come on! It seems I should have way more questions than answers.  And I do.  And I'm OK with that.  May I never stop questioning, searching, growing, learning, seeking!

Sure, scripture states that faith is being sure of what you hope for; certain of what you do not see...

And that is exactly what my faith is - a leap - beyond reason - to another realm.  That realm isn't comprised of facts, data, and measurable proof that a thing I believe is true.  That realm is a spiritual experience. Words can't describe it completely.  Just like we try to describe the miracle of the Trinity in words and we struggle.  Some things are spiritual.  A mystery.  An experience. Invisible. Unseen.

The universe is a mystery.  My existence, my consciousness, my spirit is a mystery. Life is a mystery.

Yet, I have experienced things that can never be explained away.  Love.  Hope.  Peace. Compassion.  Forgiveness.  And these are good. And so I believe in good. And I believe in love, hope and peace.  And I want others to experience more of these good things.

That's why I believe we should be sharing the Good News about Jesus and love and faith and hope and peace and reconciliation and forgiveness and wonder and mystery.

But, WOW. When I hear someone who claims to share my worldview and my faith in this beautiful Christ, and I hear judgment, shame, certainty, and a formula or equation that somehow guarantees freedom....I don't get it.  Where is the wonder, mystery, and space for God to be God?

I hope I never lose my wonder.  I can handle the paradox and the tension of having faith and holding it with certainty, while being wide open to the mystery that is unknown.