Merry Christmas

Week 4 (Love): Born to Offer Us His Peace

Jesus was born to offer us His Peace because WE NEED IT.

I feel like I need it now. 

Most of this holiday season has felt warm and full. And, honestly most of today has matched. I am profoundly grateful for my life and for my faith and frankly that I can just confidently say “God is really good. And the Christian narrative is more than a fairytale. And I am proud to be called Christian and love Jesus.”

It matters me to so much that all of that is true. It is the backdrop for every single thing. 

And yet, life is so unpredictable and people so injured. I met with a man today, so twisted up inside he equates shaming and certainty with morality and justice. Another man who is in the middle of a shame spiral because of a Christmas gift gone sideways. His value boiling down to the color of a purse. I am sitting with my own families confusion and losses.

No matter how beautiful and whole and rich life is. There is always uncertainty and confusion, evil and sin. 

I need Jesus certainty - His absolute assurances. 

I need Jesus conviction - His courage and perseverance. 

I need those things to settle an anxious mind and sad heart. 

“In this world you will have trouble, but take heart I have overcome the world.”

Week 4 (Love): Born to Exalt the Humble

Jesus was born to Exalt the Humble because WE NEED IT.

This won makes me laugh out loud a little bit, even just looking at it. My heart says “Or who the hell else will do it!” 

We (humans) love a winner. We love strength, intelligence, wit, sensuality, talent, beauty. We love moments when WE are seen that way. 

But when we are laid low. When our strength is failing or our dreams are dashed, when our intelligence is fading and our beauty marred we do not EXALT (place high, show off) we slink back into our cave, lick our wounds and hide.

But our Bible, our Story, our God does not tell that story. It’s apex, it’s victory is the brutal murder of God hung high. It’s proceeded by the a litany of stories where things are going horribly wrong and God keeps flinging people into the limelight: Abraham, Moses, Joseph, David, Ester, Naomi. And if you think the cross was the end... oh no no... Paul, Peter, Luke, John. 

God is ABOUT EXALTING THE HUMBLE.

Week 4 (Love): Born to Bring Mercy

Jesus was born to bring mercy BECAUSE WE NEED IT. 

I did a word study this morning on the word for mercy used in the new testament. The word is ELOS and it means: kindness or concern for someone in SERIOUS NEED; giving help to the WRETCHED; relieving the MISERABLE. It carries with it the intense physical sensation of your “heart being torn” when gazing on the plight of another.

This is not where my head goes to when I think about mercy. I think about lessening a prison sentence for a first time offender, letting Sydney off the hook when she’s done a chore inadequately, being “cut a break”. God’s mercy is God giving us a break. 

And not that it’s a bad thing. But that is not what this means. 

Jesus didn’t come to give us a break. 

Jesus came because His heart was being torn out by our need from relief from the pain of sin in this world. 

It’s much closer to accurate to think about what it’s like to watch the Sarah McLaughlin ASPCA commercials... the way you want to leap through the TV and care for all of those lost and devastated pups. 

That is a much closer picture of what it means to say God came to bring mercy. I may very well need a break sometimes, but I need that so much more.

Week 4 (Love): Born to Be God With Us

So given the idea that this week is a reflection on God’s Charity I thought it might be helpful to rephrase our reading heading with that in mind.

Jesus was born to be God with us BECAUSE WE NEED IT. 

And isn’t that the Truth. We need God with us in every conceivable fashion. 

In the reading from Matthew, the genealogy of Christ, I am reassured about so many ways God showed up to be “with” us. My favorite this time through are the women: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Uriah’s wife (Bathsheba).

Tamar was is a woman who was selected to marry Judah’s son Er. Er was so evil, God killed him. As was tradition, she then married the next oldest son Onan. Onan’s fundamental job in this was to give her a son to justify her existence in the community and he was having sex with her but preventing pregnancy (essentially using her). So God killed him too. Judah then promised her his next son, but plotted to never make it happen. He blamed Tamar for the deaths... thought she was cursed! So Tamar plotted to be impregnated by Judah. She pretended to be a prostitute and he had sex with her. It’s a cool story because she basically outwits Judah to repair her reputation and secure her place in the world.

This is a woman that God decided to include and mention BY NAME in Christ’s lineage. Her life and suffering were poured into the very birth of God. 

Rahab literally was a prostitute and a pagan. The Israelites were coming to attack and take over her city (Jericho). Recognizing that God’s hand was on them, she helped them to scout the city. 

Ruth was a pagan widow from an enemy country. 

And Bathsheba (referred to as Uriah’s wife) was essentially stolen by David out of lust and then murdered her husband. 

God honored these women’s lives and sacrifices. They are our sisters. 

Three of Four.... 3 of 4... we can confidently described as sexually abused. 2 of 4 had their bodies sold. 3 of 4 were widows. 2 of 4 of these women were Pagan. 

These were women who knew hard choices. These were women who were not innocent. Theses were women who were called cursed and rejected. 

Our God saw them. And loved them. And gave them dignity and their lives meaning and love. He esteemed them to play a recorded role in the birth of God with us.

That’s some WITH US. And we need it.

Advent 2020 - The Fourth Week - Love

Gods love was revealed to us in this way: God sent his one and only son into the world so that we might live through him. When we reflect on God’s Love it’s important to remember to slow down and consider what that word means. We mean way way too many things in our language to take in that verse without intention. 

I’ve already talked a lot about this idea of charity about loving because of the need of the other. But here are some additional things to reflect on when it comes to God’s Love/Charity. 

(1) God’s love isn’t just an emotion, a phase, a state or even a decision. God’s charity is His essential essence. God is made out of love for those who need love. When you consider this it is absurd to think that God ever stops loving anyone. He loves based upon OUR NEED FOR LOVE. When does that change or diminish? Maybe it can.... in the very darkest of paths. Maybe that is what it means to truly “grieve the Spirit”, when we burn away out need for love. 

(2) We have some familiarity with this kind of love... both of us.... and it’s called A PUPPY! Why oh why do I love this puppy? Surely it isn’t because this puppy can do anything for me. At 4 am this morning when Penny needed to pee and crying softly in her kennel, why did every part me awake and orient and take her outside? It was because she needed it. I experienced Need-Love, Charity. That love is in us. The kind that does it because it needs to be done.

Week 3 (Joy): Wrap Up

So we it’s been a week reflecting on Joy.

We have joy because God loves us because we need love. 

We have joy because God delights to heal us. 

We have joy because Jesus has paid the penalty for sin, so we can be free. 

We have joy because God is stronger than death. 

We have joy because even our suffering and sin is being woven into a beautiful ending.

Week 3 (Joy): To Make All Things New

Jesus was born to make all things new.

The Christian story and my own experience say that we will in a world that is crumbling into decay. Our collective size and selfishness too late to turn back ourselves. 

I can’t think of a space I do not see this trend. 

And yet God promises that with His presence and Kingdom comes new life. 

Aaron and I watched a beautiful but very dark TV show a few years back called Hannibal. From my perspective the primary theme in Hannibal’s story was anger with God about a trauma he experienced. He figured if he could make the devastation from that event horrific enough he could manipulate God to undue it, reverse time, “unbreak the tea cup”. He felt this was the ultimate gift. 

I think we believe that too. We want God to unmake our trauma and sin. Undo racism and sexism and make it so they never were. 

It’s within His power. Why doesn’t He do it?! 

God says because He needs the raw materials of our despair, rage, suffering, grief and selfishness to build something new and beautiful. They are essential to it and far better than we ever could’ve imagined.  

Week 3 (Joy): To Be the First fruits of the Resurrection

Jesus was born to be the first fruits of the resurrection.

The idea of life after death is a controversial one. And when it’s brought together with Christianity there’s usually a whole lot of talk about Hell. But thematically, what’s more relevant to Jesus is his confirmation of God’s dominion over ALL THINGS. 

Jesus' resurrection was about God’s authority or sovereignty over death itself. 

It’s interesting because there is something about the physics of reality that connects sin, decay and death. So much so, that people at all times have considered Death to be the last word, the final God.  

Jesus surrendering of his life and ultimate resurrection from the dead is the biggest triumph you can imagine. It says that God is more powerful than death itself.

This has personal implications for us all... Death will not have the final word for you or me or ANYONE. The final word belongs to God and God alone.

The miracle of Jesus' resurrection is the linchpin of our faith. It is the mightiest demonstration of God's power and ultimate supremacy. It’s why to be a Christian you have to believe in the resurrection. Because you are saying - God is the most powerful. Not even Death can stop him.

Week 3 (Joy): To Be the Lamb of God

Jesus was born to be the lamb of God. 

Today we read the story of the Passover. It’s a bleak and dark story... God sent the angel of death to kill the first born son of every living creature in Egypt. It’s one the stories that make it hard for folks to reconcile the Old Testament with Jesus. 

But the thing about the Old Testament is that Jesus' story is all over it. Specifically, this story foreshadows the cost of redemption. 

Let’s break it down: 

1. The Jews were a people in slavery. (We are all slaves to sin) 
2. The Jews were crying out for freedom. (We groan for release from sin and its devastation) 
3. God sends a messenger to plead release. (The prophets and ultimately Jesus come, teaching the ways of release) 
4. Pharaoh will not let the slaves go (Sin will not release us due to consequences or logic)
5. Finally the Pharaoh is cost his only and beloved son (as are all of his people) and he begrudgingly releases the slaves. (Sin is confronted and temporarily releases its hold in circumstances of dire consequences - the loss of our most beloved things). 
6. To be spared from this consequence the Jewish people are given a substitute for their children, the blood of a spotless lamb. (Jesus is our substitutionary atonement, our way out of sin that doesn’t cost us dearly) 

 This is Joyful! We are free to escape sin through Jesus. We don’t have to suffer the consequences to be free. This is the story from the beginning of creation.

Notice we are freed in this story not only from our own sin, but from the hold of Sin (Pharaoh). It is personal but it is also freedom from something bigger than our personal choices. It’s one of the metaphors about sin that has really gotten lost over the years.

Week 3 (Joy): To Heal Our Wounds

Jesus was also born to heal our wounds. 

Today we read about Jesus role in healing our spiritual, emotional and physical injuries. That he was born to suffer with us and hold sin for us. That he is empowered to heal every injured thing from bodies to emotions to souls. 

At once this news is delightful and confusing. In a world where we continue to hurt and suffer, it’s hard to believe Jesus is empowered to do all that AND loves us. Surely it must be one or the other? Otherwise wouldn’t all this pain end?

I know that I do not have a complete response to that... instead what I have is a picture of he price God was willing to pay to create a way for us to be together again. 

He was willing to change His form forevermore to take on flesh. In that limited flesh he took on life in its entirety. Our limits, our illnesses, our environmental struggles, our hungers and boredom. He went on to experience the absolute worst humanity has to offer. Jealousy, spite, abuse, torture, betrayal, abandonment and murder. And at the summation of that He surrendered His life saying “Father forgive them, they know not what they do.” 

Of this I am sure, God will stop at no lengths to win your heart. Not manipulate or obligate - win. 

I don’t know why this is the plan, but His plans frequently sound absurd to me. But in the end they are always good and always right. 

Joy to the world, our healer is coming!

Week 3 (Joy): Born to Show Us Perfect Love

Jesus was born to show us perfect love. 

Yesterday’s readings speak to God’s love for humanity and Jesus walking out that kind of love. In evangelical searches they point out it’s a specific Greek word “agape.” But I prefer CS Lewis’s word “charity.”

Probably one of the most formational books in my walk with God is CS Lewis’s The Four Loves. It’s a deep dive into all the things we mean when we say we love things. And Lewis tarries at each concept, reveling in the riches it brings but also, for most, the ultimate demise of that love when held out of balance with the Ultimate love: Charity. 

Charity had most recently come to mean giving of resources to those in need (most often food, money or clothing). But this is NOT the heart of charity simply an expression of it. 

You see we love beautiful things because we need to love beautiful things. We were designed to do it. It’s so obvious when you see the way the room turns at a beautiful woman or our eyes are drawn to the majesty of the night sky. 

But Gods loves things because THEY NEED IT. It is a love for the benefit of the recipient. That is charity. 

What a joy that is! That God loves us because we NEED LOVE. And the more desperate we are the more He gives.

Advent 2020 - The Third Week - Joy

Before I jumped into a week focused on Joy, I wanted to get a handle on what exactly it is we are studying... there has been A LOT to say about Joy in the Christian world.

Is Joy being happy all the time and never feeling sorrow or grief?

Is Joy the feeling of belonging we have with people who love us?

Is Joy exclusive to God?

I honestly didn’t know.

It turns out the actually word used for joy “chara” was not a lot of help on its own. It means to be happy. I might use it to say, I was so chara when the pizza arrived... not a lot of depth or nuance there.

Joy it seems is best understood in scripture as a theme. The theme is this: As children of God we have access to joy that comes from a supernatural and faithful perspective on life, particularly painful or difficult circumstances.

We have joy in confusion.

We have joy when we are persecuted.

We have joy when we mourn.

Because our dominant perspective on life is that God is working all things together, particularly the painful and dark things, for the good of those who love God.

That doesn’t exclude grief or anger or confusion but it can eclipse it. Our inheritance is to be people who look for that rather than reject it. We embrace the authentic faithful joy inherent in knowing who God is and how God is.

Week 2 (Peace): Wrap Up

I am reflecting on the idea of Jesus ushering in Peace. Tying together the individual messages from each day into a broader understanding of the elements that bring together God’s Peace.

Jesus was Born to:
(1) teach us to walk in God’s ways
(2) seek and save the lost
(3) reign as king
(4) bring God’s kingdom to earth
(5) defeat the enemy

And what came to me is emotional exchanges that lead to a comprehensive and ordered approach to finding True Peace.

(1) Exchanging confusion for clarity. Jesus teaching us God’s ways ends the hypocrisy and dissension regarding HOW to live as God commands. His teachings and manner helping us to understand what is sin and what is not. We exchange chaos, confusion and disorder for clarity and vision.

(2) Exchanging despair for hope. Once we understand clearly the nature of sin, we are immediately confronted with our hopelessness to overcome it. We are lost and helpless to heal ourselves. Jesus mission to seek and save the lost ushers in the peace of knowing we are being sought out, actively saved from our position. We exchange helpless, hopeless rejection for vibrant, worth and hope. 

(3) Exchanging fear for security. When we understand clearly our personal position as the recipient of God’s love and grace, we then become aware we live in a hostile climate. We are foreigners in a strange land. Jesus position as Sovereign and Eternal King gives us the peace of knowing that all injustice will be set right. God can be trusted to execute perfect justice and has the authority to do so. We exchange terror and outrage for confident security.

(4) Exchanging meaninglessness for purpose. When we understand clearly our position with God and His sovereign authority we the can be crushed by the idea that our lives are without meaning. God does not need me... I have no role in this. But Jesus role as ushering in the kingdom of heaven to the earth provides us a new and immediate identity and purpose. We are citizens of the kingdom of heaven. On mission to live out Gods kingdom here and now. We exchange purposelessness for significant contribution and stewardship. 

(5) Exchanging defeat and death for victory and eternal life. When we fully understand our position, security and purpose the last obstruction is death... doesn’t the enemy hold the final card? Our last exchange is in knowing that Jesus along with our efforts has defeated sin and death and he will raise us all to eternal life.This is the final PEACE! We have complete peace.

 #Jesus#DarknessZero

Week 2 (Peace): Born to Defeat the Enemy

Check this out.. The Church makes a big scene about Jesus paying the price of salvation on the cross. This is true... we had no part in salvation or reconciliation with God. He paid it all.

However... defeating the enemy is a WHOLE OTHER story!

Do you see that? How is the enemy defeated??

“By the blood of the Lamb AND the word of our testimony”

We play a part in the defeat of the enemy. We have a role. God does not ask us to sit and watch while He does it all - we PARTICIPATE.

I did not realize this until today. Our words about Jesus and God are our responsibility! Our weapons against darkness, sin and death.

Week 2 (Peace): Born to Bring God's Kingdom to Earth

So I’m super jazzed about today’s reading! It's from the book of Daniel and covers a prophetic dream about the rise and falls of all of the kingdoms between Daniel and the birth of Jesus. 

I studied Daniel in depth about 10 years ago and then again less than a year ago, so I am familiar with the dream and I know the story pretty well. All the scholars I've read are super interested in the dream and the story because it's demonstrates prophetic accuracy. That's cool but prophecy has never really been my jam. Too much of a skeptic I guess.

What DOES fascinate me today is the contrast between the materials that make up the kingdoms of this world (gold, silver, bronze, iron) and Gods kingdom (a mountain).

Get this, in the dream all of the human kingdoms represented by minerals you mine, refine and forge. Minerals generally excavated from a mountain. God’s kingdom, in contrast, is whole, complete, unrefined.

And what has me joyous and slack jawed is this... isn’t this what we see?? Gods ideas mined, refined and forged into monolithic religions and institutions! God created beauty, we get the fashion industry. God created order, we get institutions filled with rules and regulations and red tape. God created sensuality, we get porn and the sex trade. All of these ideas separated from their source, mined and refined by human hands, fashioned as we see fit. Each human process taking the beautiful further and further from the source material; making things harder, shallower and brittle.

But Jesus, represented as a rock that becomes a mountain, is whole and complete. He introduces a kingdom not mined, refined and forged but naturally comprehensive and complete. All minerals collecting and acting as one. Including those we’ve idolized and those we’ve ignored, edited out or devalued.

Isn’t the Bible SO COOL!

Week 2 (Peace): Born to Reign as King

Jesus as King is another difficult metaphor. Not because I dislike it in this case but because it is so unfamiliar. Kings are the stuff of history books and fairytales.

Fortunately I’m married to a closet historian who is happy to explain the role of kings and tell me all of his thoughts about good kings and bad kings.

All kings held tremendous authority and responsibility. The underpinning idea of feudalism being that the King basically owns everything. Kings own all the land, all the belongings, all the labor, all the money, all the people (including you, your wife, your children). EVERYTHING, your very life, all assets at the disposal of the king. The king says we go to war - you go to war. The king says he wants your wife - bye wife. You get the idea.

Good kings ruled in ways that allowed their people to prosper and be happy. The people lived in peace: without fear from within or without. Bad kings ruled in ways that allowed their people to be disadvantaged and to suffer. The people lived in fear: fear of their enemies or their officials or the king himself.

I don’t think it’s an accident that God uses this metaphor to communicate our relationship to Him. That He narrates Jesus as “The Forever Good King.”

It’s reflected in everything Jesus promised and required. He promised us peace and joy and prosperity (to live without fear from within or without) but also he required complete authority (to give everything we are and everything we have over to Him).

But unlike every other king our membership in the kingdom is entirely voluntary. We can choose to be citizens or not.

In my mind this makes Jesus the ultimate good king - He does not presume ownership of your life, you are asked to surrender it if you believe He is a good king.

Week 2 (Peace): Born to Seek and Save the Lost

This is probably the role of Jesus with which I am the most comfortable. It’s so familiar to me it’s like sliding into my favorite pair of jeans. They’ve gone so many places with me, been through so many things and I feel good when I put them on, a little more like myself.

I grew up knowing Jesus was about the sinner, the crestfallen, the outsider, the sick, the confused, the injured, the outcast, the black sheep. I have never one time seriously considered that God could stop loving me or even wanted to. God loves me and everyone else and I knew that because of Jesus.

This belief has undoubtedly shaped me in the most intimate and defining of ways. I hold nothing back from God. Nothing! I share my Fury. Pride. Lust. Idiocy. My Bitterness. Successes. Confusion. Doubt. It’s all on the table because everything is safe.

I can earnestly say God is my best friend. There is nothing between us. I may get a concept or a law or circumstance stuck in my craw but I completely trust God to talk to about it. I literally never worry it’s unwelcome or will cause me rejection.

I will not say it is sufficient to end my sin but it is the fertile soil of opportunity out of which it grows.

This simple fact has driven me into any shred of righteousness or holiness or sacredness I possess or understand: I can’t undo God’s love for me (and neither can you).

It is from this place that I have found my footing to pursue a whole and holy life.

Our question for today was: Then how should we respond? My answer was this:

  

Week 2 (Peace): Born to Teach Us to Walk in God's Ways

Today we focus on Jesus as our Teacher. And like the best teachers, His most powerful lessons were in his lived expression.

For me this has meant a growing awareness of a dance with God that underpins my entire life, every moment. A dance that is at once an adventurous excavation of Truth, a rhythmic application of Disciplines, and a continuous co-creation of the Fruit of my behavior, thoughts and character. A dance between myself, my circumstances and God where these Truths, Disciplines and Fruit are in dynamic motion: each leading and following, shaping and yielding to the other.

I can only do this because I first watched Jesus do the dance himself and then invite me in. Slowing the rhythm and pace, so that I could learn and not be swept away or crushed. My missteps accounted for, included but not ruinous. The gravity of the dance mounting and my skill and familiarity growing.

Advent 2020 - The Second Week - Peace

Isaiah 9:6 

For a child will be born to us,

a son will be given to us,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God

Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 

For me the part that leaps out, is that in The Kingdom of God everything is brought together... A Child, A King, A Counselor, A Mighty God, A Father, A Prince of Peace.

That is NOT human peace. 

Under human rule the best way to keep the peace is separation.... BOUNDARIES. This applies from the personal to the political. From our households to our neighborhoods to our world. We can exist as a family in peace, as long as we have boundaries around TV control and food and sleep hours. We can exist as a neighborhood with different ways of life as long as we have separate houses and often fences. We can exist as citizens of one nation of diverse religions and political perspectives by separating church and state. We can exist in peace with other nations that hold antithetical governmental structures or broadly accept different levels of human rights if we acknowledge physical borders to countries.

Peace = The Ultimate "You do you, Boo"

This division = peace is why we broadly accept ideas like divorce, making your own family, charter schools, gay bars, ratings on movies. It's why we bumper sticker our cars, go to makers fairs and farmers markets, join the NRA, wear or don't wear masks, follow or unfollow this or that person on Twitter or Instagram. We long for the peace that comes from similarity, agreement. We long to look around and nod and say "all is right with the world." 

God’s Peace, on the other hand, is defined by a coming together, a making whole, a reconciliation. King AND Father, Counselor AND Mighty. There is no separation between church and state, state and family, family and healer.

This pull toward unity immediately brings up the wars that remain within us. The wars we have sought to silence with boundaries. 

“That means agreeing to one morality... what if I don’t like those rules?”

“That means accepting and loving people I am angry with!”

“That means submitting to authority!”

It does. It means all of those things. 

Our divisions never ended the wars. The wars remain in us. They remain in me.

May we come to understand and love God's Peace. May we be willing to acknowledge and address the wars that remain inside of us. 

Week 1 (Hope): Wrap Up

A week reflecting on Hope.

Hope is a vulnerable emotion isn’t it. It’s the first suspect after a betrayal, disappointment, abuse or grief.

“J’accuse!” as Aaron would say, pointing. “It is YOU that lead me into that trap. It is YOU that opened my heart. It is YOUR FAULT!”

And Hope in God, a God who is both here now and coming... a God who is not distant but invested... a God who is at once all powerful and all loving...

“You believe that God is coming to rescue you, is he?” said scornfully shielding a heart full of pain and rage and disappointment. “Where was God when...”

If hope at all is vulnerable (and occasionally stupid), Hope in God is shear idiocy beyond comprehension. It’s Santa for adults. A temporary and dangerous illusion meant to sooth us from the harsh realties of life.

And yet... the Christmas season is all about Wild, Expecting Hope. Vulnerable Hope. Hope that God would not just rescue us but join us. Hope that God would not just create us but enjoy us. Hope that God has come and is coming. Hope that we are not rejected despite our ugly and hate, instead we are sought for, fought for and recklessly loved. It's a Huge Hope.

From my perspective, Hope in God is either a naïve, reckless numbing that is occasionally harmless but frequently leads to delusion, hatred and death or a Courageous Virtue that has embedded in it the opportunity to change reality by first changing the heart. 

I choose Hope, but I understand if you can't or don't or won't. I will try to Hope enough for the both of us. 

Week 1 (Hope): Born to Be Our High Priest

Today is a weird day for me...

Priests...

Jesus is born to be our high priest.

Priest...

I don’t really like that word. I think I might have stopped being a Catholic in large measure because of that word. In my mind it’s like spiritual patriarchy. Priests are the special people (really men) who are close enough to God to speak to and for Him. The ultimate we know better than you. Blech

I definitely like the idea that Jesus is the priest. Like if there has to be one, I like that it’s Jesus. But I still bristle at the role altogether. 

But God is definitely pro-priest. As ever, He has not consulted with me and insists on ALWAYS being right. So that means digging in.

As I’ve contemplated this morning, I am thinking that it’s our conception of power that’s the issue. That the self-righteous, pride of position that I assume/insert/project is poisoning me.

There’s some weird mention in the reading of Melchizedek too. You know I had to look that shit up.

And I won’t say I had some lightbulb moment or anything. But what I did realize is that this “priest-king of righteousness” (that’s what Melchizedek means) is introduced as a servant (he comes to feed Abram bread and wine after he just fought a bunch of other kings to rescue his shit heel cousin Lot). It’s a contrast between Melchizedek (serving, non-violent) and the other kings (imperialistic, violent) that jumps out. And Jesus chose to be compared to THIS priest.

This seems important. That Jesus is not a high priest who is gloating about his position. He comes out to meet us and tend to us in war. To bless us.

If that’s was a priest is supposed to be, I can see why God is for that.

See what I mean... always fucking right.

Every single time.

Merry Christmas!

Week 1 (Hope): Born to Fulfill the Law

Today us about Jesus fulfilling the law.
Christians have a complex relationship with the law. So did the Jews. Paul says the law was a “cage” and a “mirror”.

Cage because it corralled sin in action, quarantining it, flattening the curve. It did nothing about its existence. Nothing to heal it.

Mirror because it makes us aware of the sin in our hearts and lives. You can’t look honestly at the law and think you are gonna measure up. I mean crap - it starts with Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and have no other gods besides me...

Fail. Epic fail. I worship beauty and money and my own bloody intelligence. And I will several times today even if I devote myself not too.

However, the problem with the Jews and now the Christians too (and frankly the Buddhists, the Hindus, the Atheists and the Muslims too) is that we all lie to ourselves and think we can clean our sin up. Here are our plans: (1) We WILL follow the rules. OR (2) We say the rules themselves are wrong.

Gods way was different. He said I will fulfill the Law. I will live it out as you can’t. I will do it for you and come and teach you. This is our hope.

Go tell it on the mountain ladies... Jesus Christ is Born!

Week 1 (Hope): Born to Bless The Nations

The passage from Galatians today is long and it’s hard to wrap your mind around what the hell Paul is trying to say outside of its context... (Galatians 3: 7-29)

He’s writing to Jews in this passage. Jews who are confused about what made them acceptable to God. Jews who had spent hundreds of years believing in a sort of spiritual feudal economy... they inherited God’s love and Grace by birthright (kinda like a prince) and lost access to it by breaking the rules (the law). It was a system of inheritance, entitlement and responsibility. It’s not all that different from much of the way Christianity is practiced in America. You inherit your standing in a local church by birth (your parents take you) and you learn all the rules and things your supposed to believe and say (the law). As a result you are entitled to God’s favor and forgiveness.

But the way Jesus “blessed the nations” was to crush all of that. To usher in a era of generosity, grace and gratitude. He does this by acknowledging that we are not entitled to His thrown by inheritance (all of that ‘not seeds but seed' talk) and we have not measured up to earn it through behavior (all of that law talk). Instead we are loved simply because God loves us. Because He Chooses too. Period.

And it’s not just for the Jew but for all mankind - thank God because I am definitely not Jewish.

All we need to do is believe and respond with gratitude.

Week 1 (Hope): Born to Do What Adam Could Not Do

Jesus did what Adam could not do...

And what Adam could not do is trust God.

Isn’t that fascinating.

That is all started with trust. That sin entered the world through Eve’s inability to discern the voice of the enemy and her openness to distrusting God.

Adam then follows this up by wanting Eve or trusting Eve more than God.

Like a pull in a sweater... sin has unraveled reality ever since. Cascading forward, our desperation only unraveling creation all the more. Less and less and less trust. Less and less and less obedience.

And in the midst of our chaos, Jesus is born. Born to do what Adam and Eve could not... trust and obey even to the point of death.

Through His obedience the fabric of reality is now being rewoven into a new heavens and earth, filled with trust, obedience, truth and light. The pulling of the sweater only yielding more fabric, more substance for this new reality.

The old is passing away. The new has come.