Year / 2009

by Greg

Significance

It has struck me again recently just how significant Jesus is.

It’s not just that our entire calendar is based roughly on the year of his birth some two thousand years ago now. (Though that’s pretty significant.) It’s not just that there are people all over the entire world who know his name and use it today both to invoke blessing and as a curse word. (Do you know anyone else who has reached such a status?)

It’s not the statues, paintings, songs, building, even entire religions that bear his name that reveal his full significance.

We celebrate the birth of this man every year on December 25th because he is the visible likeness of the invisible God.

Listen to how Paul describes him at the beginning of his letter to the Colossian Christians:

Christ is the visible likeness of the invisible God. He is the firstborn son, superior to all created things. For by him, God created all things in heaven and on earth, the seen and unseen things, including spiritual powers, lords, rulers, and authorities. God created the whole universe through him and for him. He existed before all things, and in union with him all things have their proper place.

Colossians 1:15-17

The book of Hebrews also calls Jesus God’s final and perfect revelation. (Read Hebrews chapter one for more.) In John chapter one it refers to him as the Word (logos) and talks of how all was made through him.

That’s fairly significant.

Let’s read on in Colossians.

He is the head of his body, the church; he is the source of the body’s life; he is the firstborn son who was rasied from death, in order that he alone might have the first place in all things.

Colossians 1:18

I think we who call ourselves Christians really believe and want to live this out. We want Jesus—not us—to sit on the throne of our hearts. He is the center of all we are and do. He is supreme in all things.

What I see though, suggests otherwise.

I think that—like I referenced a bit at the top—one of our biggest problems is how much we over-signify Jesus, if that were possible. Obviously, that is not really possible, as the descriptions of him from these books would suggest. However, as we further “deify” and remove him from the intimate relationship he chose to have with us, passing through a woman’s birth canal just as all the rest of us have, and living through the subsequent mess that our world and our lives can be … he also experienced all of the joys he created us to know and live. God came to be one of us, to be with us; “Emmanuel.”

So it’s less about what wise, learned people say about him… it’s certainly not about all of the traditions, rituals, ceremonies, and other various observances we have amassed along the way. Those are fine, but the core of the entire universe is Jesus. Just him.

For it was by God’s own decision that the son has in himself the full nature of God. Through the son, then, God decided to bring the whole universe back to himself. God made peace through his son’s death on the cross, and so brought back to himself all things, both on earth and in heaven.

Colossians 1:19-20

The cross is not just about death. The cross is about life, and peace. Reconciliation. Redemption. (Check out Romans chapter five. Fantastic stuff about what God did through the cross.)

When we reduce the Good News that Jesus came to deliver in person to a set of rules to obey, and a code of ethics, we are totally missing the point. JESUS is the point. We need to watch what he does, hear what he says, follow where he leads. We need him.

[Jesus said,] “And this is eternal life: for men to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, whom you sent.”

John 17:3

This Christmas, don’t just remember that “Jesus is the Reason for the Season” … get to know him. He is the reason for everything. Knowing him is eternal life. It really, truly is all about him.

Now that’s significant!

by Greg

Recommendation: Up by Pixar

A week or two ago we all watched the Pixar movie, “Up” together as a family. It was fun to see how it kept nearly everyone’s attention throughout, with lots of fun moments sprinkled through an emotionally touching story.

I don’t use those words lightly!

When it was over, Kirstie (our 5 year old) and Julia (our 3 year old) were both crying! A lot! (Note: the funny thing was, there were some sad story lines throughout the movie, but it does end up on a relatively happy note…) Now, it could be that they were tired, too, but they were definitely affected by this story!

Pixar continues to amaze me. In an era when we really don’t want our kids to watch any movies or TV shows because of the messages they convey—directly or indirectly—Pixar makes movies that are not only “OK” to watch, they are actually helpful!

I don’t want to give away the story line, so I’ll just say that “Up” is another endearing story with many teachable moments, and just plain FUN! Many hilarious, laugh-out-loud moments. (I mean that literally, not the “texting” version of that phrase…) I don’t think I could recommend a movie more.

AND, for those of you who still have room to buy stuff for Christmas (or still need to buy stuff for Christmas…) you can click on the DVD cover in this post and click over to the digital version from Amazon and get it delivered in time for Christmas. (I don’t know if they can still get the DVD there on time…) Or, there’s always iTunes…

Enjoy!

(PS… for the adults… we also highly recommend Star Trek! Another fine movie from 2009!)

by Greg

Light. Eat!

Emma CarolineEmma, our 21-month-old daughter, woke up yesterday with an upset tummy. It wasn’t awful, but she did a “dry heave” and definitely was not herself. I felt so bad for her, but also just could not figure out where she had gotten any sort of a stomach bug from?? We hadn’t been around anyone who is sick for, well, as long as I could remember. (And, as far as I could remember, you don’t get stomach bugs without some sort of contact with it.)

Emma was OK for the rest of the day. A little extra sleepy at nap time, but OK. And I kept trying to think of maybe what she ate that made her not feel well, or what could have caused this for her. Couldn’t land on anything, though.

Until Jen laid her down for her nap.

“Light. Eat!” said Emma to Mom.

“What?” said a confused Mom. When Emma repeated her story, Jen noticed that one (or two) of the Christmas lights strung around the window by Emma’s bed was clear white instead of blue.

Yes, that’s right. The source of the sickness was (apparently) a Christmas light that looked a little too much like candy.

(This from the child who also once put a dead bumble bee in her mouth.)

Emma woke up in the middle of the night last night, still not feeling very well, but appears to be feeling herself again this morning. Yuck. I think we feed her pretty well … well enough that she shouldn’t need to eat Christmas lights for a snack…

But, just in case. They have been moved.

Light… Don’t eat!

by Greg

Unseen Help

My two boys and I have been trying to read through the book of Luke this month. At least the beginning, where we got to read again the story of Jesus’ arrival. It really is both ordinary and incredible all at once.

We read the part about the angel appearing to the guys who were taking care of sheep in the middle of the night. And then how there were lots more angels with that one angel all of a sudden, and they were singing! (Or shouting?)

Luke 2:8-15
That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

After reading that, and talking about the craziness of an angel just appearing out of nowhere, and then a million more showing up and chanting in unison, kind of like a pep rally from heaven. The contrast I was pointing out was how that was shockingly weird compared to the very ordinary entry of God into his created world. Born just like the rest of us. Spent his first night in a barn (not like most of the rest of us). Fairly ordinary.

To ensure that it wasn’t only ordinary, God chose to let some (ordinary) folks in on it. In a super-incredible way.

As we were talking about those angels and the super-incredibleness, Ian said, “How far away do you think people could see that? Was it only the shepherds who saw it?”

“Good question!” I replied. It was! I wonder if God chose to reveal the news only to those men right there. You’d think that “vast hosts of … armies” and the”radiance of the Lord’s glory” might be somewhat conspicuous. But I wonder…

Ian’s question reminded me of a story from the prophet Elisha’s life. I couldn’t remember exactly, so I told them I’d look it up and we’d read it together. It was related in that an army of angels was all of a sudden revealed to one person (and in position for battle) when before they had been unseen. (Perhaps like the angels the night Jesus was born?)

The story is from 2 Kings, and is fascinating.

2 Kings 6:8-23
When the king of Aram was at war with Israel, he would confer with his officers and say, “We will mobilize our forces at such and such a place.”

But immediately Elisha, the man of God, would warn the king of Israel, “Do not go near that place, for the Arameans are planning to mobilize their troops there.” So the king of Israel would send word to the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he would be on the alert there.

The king of Aram became very upset over this. He called his officers together and demanded, “Which of you is the traitor? Who has been informing the king of Israel of my plans?”

“It’s not us, my lord the king,” one of the officers replied. “Elisha, the prophet in Israel, tells the king of Israel even the words you speak in the privacy of your bedroom!”

“Go and find out where he is,” the king commanded, “so I can send troops to seize him.”

And the report came back: “Elisha is at Dothan.” So one night the king of Aram sent a great army with many chariots and horses to surround the city.

When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. “Oh, sir, what will we do now?” the young man cried to Elisha.

“Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.

As the Aramean army advanced toward him, Elisha prayed, “O Lord, please make them blind.” So the Lord struck them with blindness as Elisha had asked.

Then Elisha went out and told them, “You have come the wrong way! This isn’t the right city! Follow me, and I will take you to the man you are looking for.” And he led them to the city of Samaria.

As soon as they had entered Samaria, Elisha prayed, “O Lord, now open their eyes and let them see.” So the Lord opened their eyes, and they discovered that they were in the middle of Samaria.

When the king of Israel saw them, he shouted to Elisha, “My father, should I kill them? Should I kill them?”

“Of course not!” Elisha replied. “Do we kill prisoners of war? Give them food and drink and send them home again to their master.”

So the king made a great feast for them and then sent them home to their master. After that, the Aramean raiders stayed away from the land of Israel.

There is so much to this story! I wish that I currently had time to share my thoughts on this one, but I’ll stick to the link to the first story for now…

The armies of heaven (as they were described in Luke) were apparently poised to assist Elisha, though no one could see them. And, when Elisha prayed that the servant could see them, my guess is that only the servant could then see them (along with Elisha). The rest of the story is fascinating, too, with some Jedi mind tricks played on the army sent to capture Elisha. Who knew 2 Kings was the source of George Lucas’ inspiration?

Also, it is interesting to note the description of this unseen army. “Horses and chariots of fire” sound rather menacing! If these are the same “armies of heaven” that are in Luke’s story, no wonder people are always afraid when they see these guys!

I’m not sure if more than the sheep herders were able to see the messengers that night. Perhaps they were the only ones to see the spectacular first christmas light show. That would fit God’s apparent M.O. He slipped in, nearly unnoticed. And it continued for many years to come. Even when he was working miracles, there were times (it seems) when his students forgot who he was, and he was—in a way—God, unnoticed.

There is something so ordinary about him. It’s fun to read the Christmas story and see how he came to be one of us. He is not like us, but he chose to be. God came to live with us. The unseen became seen.

Incredible.

by Greg

It Feels Like Motufrithursatnesday

For a long time now I have been working strange hours, strange days, long hours and long days. But also, thanks to the flexibility of owning my own businesses, there are also times when I will be able to attend a gathering, or assist in some capacity (moving someone, perhaps) on a day and time when I would normally be working.

To that end, I have been waking up nearly every day for the past month (or more?) with absolutely no idea what day of the week it is! None.

So I think I’m just going to call every day Motufrithursatnesday. That covers them all! (I’m pretty regular with Sunday being my down day, so that one I usually know…)

A couple more days of work, and then it’s the holiday week, and I will be on vacation … then I definitely won’t know what day it is!!

Oh well…

🙂

by Greg

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

Snow!We have been getting snow the last few days here, and last night it finally turned into “real” snow! (The kind that comes down in big, fluffy flakes and starts piling up on everything quickly!) And it looks like there’s more where that came from!

I love snow! It just makes me smile, and even fairly giddy! 🙂 Not sure how it does that for me, since most folks my age seem to have lost the excitement and joy that slow-falling snow can bring. But somehow, it does! And it’s so fun to see the kids bubbly with excitement, too, as they stand at the door taking in the wonder of the new-fallen snow. So fun!

Not sure if we’ll have a “white Christmas”, but the current weather certainly helps it feel more like Christmas time! Time to play some Christmas music… 🙂

by Greg

The End of The Aught

For whatever reason, I’ve taken to using the words “aught nine” to describing the end of this year, and even this decade. (Well, the “aught” part.) And lately, Jen was quite confused by my usage of the archaic term… so I explained it to her, but then realized it was odd enough that I should do some investigating myself.

Turns out, many others are confused as well. Is it “ought,” or is it “aught?” Well, from this source, a page attempting to help court reporters know the meaning of words that sound the same (homonyms) so they put the right one into the report … the correct spelling would be “aught.”

Since my sister-in-law is a court reporter to be … I’m gonna trust that answer. She’s pretty smart, so must be right… 🙂

Only a couple weeks left of the aught… then we’re on to the… tens? Teens? What will it be?

I guess it will be the tens, since the world will end just before the teens. 🙂