Well, we are off until January 6th, but did want to take this opportunity to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas. I think a few posts back I shared that I was having difficulty this season, dealing with much loss around me. A dear friend shared some wisdom he received when going through a similar time. He said be grateful for the time that you did have. Focus on the good. It is difficult for a grateful heart to remain sad for long. Now, I tell my kids that all the time and yet I can't seem to follow through on it myself!
So this is my thankful list(or me kicking myself in the seat!) - my family is almost all together, healthy and relatively happy. We have enough to eat and presents to share. Our friends overseas appear to be healthy and relatively safe. Those around us who have lost loved ones have found a way to celebrate the small miracles in their journey, providing us with inspiration. Our extended family is well and celebrating the season. We have plans with friends in the coming weeks. Our house is clean and as soon as I finish this the groceries will be bought. And now that I think of it, there are so many more things I could list but this is enough. Go enjoy your time, and may you find peace, joy and gratefulness this holiday season.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Location, Location, Location!
If you have ever taken an English (or Language Arts) class you may remember that in telling and reporting stories the setting is very important. It highlights and adds to the depth of understanding that we are able to achieve. Think about a recent news story you heard, and then change the setting and see how that changes the way you understand and interpret the event. And the setting doesn't just include the physical aspects, but the sociological structures as well. This week we deepened our understanding of the birth story by looking at its setting.
Christ lived and ministered during the Pax Romana, a peace that was gained and maintained through violence and suppression of peoples just to the point of rebellion. Many of the titles for the Emperor were the same ones used for Jesus, and, in fact, the Romans believed that humans could become divine. It was a society organized around a patronage system that kept 80% of the population at the subsistence level. Many of these at the bottom were considered expendable - tradesmen (like carpenters), prostitutes, tax collectors. In an agricultural society you could always find or train another carpenter or low level tax collector, but you really needed those guys who were caring for and harvesting your crops.
So, within that 80% there was this subgroup getting the message that there was no room for them in the Roman kingdom. And those were the people with whom Jesus spent most of his time, and to whom he gave the message that there IS a place for them in God's kingdom. Hmmmm.... What a political and economic threat that posed! Think of it, rousing 80% of the population to rebel. We have seen it happen many times since then, and it is never pretty or easy.
No wonder the Roman officials took the extreme steps they did when they couldn't find the baby at his birth. The Roman peace was peace through violence, but Jesus is peace through justice.I think I speak for our entire group when I wish you the peace of Jesus, today and always.
Christ lived and ministered during the Pax Romana, a peace that was gained and maintained through violence and suppression of peoples just to the point of rebellion. Many of the titles for the Emperor were the same ones used for Jesus, and, in fact, the Romans believed that humans could become divine. It was a society organized around a patronage system that kept 80% of the population at the subsistence level. Many of these at the bottom were considered expendable - tradesmen (like carpenters), prostitutes, tax collectors. In an agricultural society you could always find or train another carpenter or low level tax collector, but you really needed those guys who were caring for and harvesting your crops.
So, within that 80% there was this subgroup getting the message that there was no room for them in the Roman kingdom. And those were the people with whom Jesus spent most of his time, and to whom he gave the message that there IS a place for them in God's kingdom. Hmmmm.... What a political and economic threat that posed! Think of it, rousing 80% of the population to rebel. We have seen it happen many times since then, and it is never pretty or easy.
No wonder the Roman officials took the extreme steps they did when they couldn't find the baby at his birth. The Roman peace was peace through violence, but Jesus is peace through justice.I think I speak for our entire group when I wish you the peace of Jesus, today and always.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Merry Flexibility
Well, we won't be meeting again this week as our leader has been called away, some of us are facing significant challenges with our families and who couldn't use a little extra time this month?
I am personally struggling with being happy and thankful this season when I see friends in great pain and struggling through loss. I sent out two sympathy cards this week, attended a third visitation, have two more friends with critically ill family members and am wondering what is the message I am missing? I know, I know, we don't always get to know the reason for the experiences we have. But right now I really do need to know why. Why so much loss, right now, right here? How can I be thankful for what I have without feeling so incredibly guilty that I do have what I have?
The answer if faith. Faith that God works for good, that He wants what is best for each one of us, that He will use the bad things that happen to create good. Maybe it goes back to the beginning of 2 Corinthians when Paul talked about going through suffering so that we could comfort others who suffer. Maybe I am learning coping skills that I will pass on to others. Maybe, just maybe I will be able to simply listen to one of my friends who is suffering and by listening provide some comfort. But seriously, this is much easier to write than it is to live...
Peace and blessings to you this week.
I am personally struggling with being happy and thankful this season when I see friends in great pain and struggling through loss. I sent out two sympathy cards this week, attended a third visitation, have two more friends with critically ill family members and am wondering what is the message I am missing? I know, I know, we don't always get to know the reason for the experiences we have. But right now I really do need to know why. Why so much loss, right now, right here? How can I be thankful for what I have without feeling so incredibly guilty that I do have what I have?
The answer if faith. Faith that God works for good, that He wants what is best for each one of us, that He will use the bad things that happen to create good. Maybe it goes back to the beginning of 2 Corinthians when Paul talked about going through suffering so that we could comfort others who suffer. Maybe I am learning coping skills that I will pass on to others. Maybe, just maybe I will be able to simply listen to one of my friends who is suffering and by listening provide some comfort. But seriously, this is much easier to write than it is to live...
Peace and blessings to you this week.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Christmas Stories
Welcome back! We didn't meet last week for several reasons, and beginning this week we will take a break from 2 Corinthians and looking at the Christmas story from different perspectives. We all know the story, from pageants, sermons, services, songs, storybooks. But do we really know the story?
We started out by reading Luke 1:2-2:39. Why Luke? Well, it is one of two places you can find the birth story(the other being Matthew 1:18-2:23), it is the most "familiar" story, and it contains much more detail than Matthew. One thing we didn't discuss in much depth is why there isn't a birth story in John and Mark. Guess we will save that for another day. We did look for and discuss anything that jumped out at us that we hadn't noticed before. We talked about how special John the Baptist was, how he was set apart from everyone even before he was conceived. We noted that the WOMEN are not only mentioned, they are central to the narrative and they are NAMED! We considered the parallel between the Abraham/Sarah story and Zechariah/Elizabeth, as well as Elijah and John the Baptist. Then we contrasted the birth story in Luke with the story as recorded in Matthew. What a difference!
So, why so different? Probably marketing. Think about the intended audience of the writers. Matthew was a Jew writing for Jews, so tying everything back to the traditions and telling the story in a traditional way would be most important for him. Luke, on the other hand, was a gentile writing for gentiles, working on including EVERYONE in the new church. A church struggling to be cohesive and yet inclusive. The level of detail and point of view don't change the story or how it happened, they merely change the way we hear and understand it. I found this idea strangely comforting, mainly because it supports my understanding of a God who constantly and consistently reaches out to all of us. God wants to be in relationship with us and changes how he reaches out to us, giving every opportunity to respond to His grace. Can you hear him reaching out to you in the birth story?
We started out by reading Luke 1:2-2:39. Why Luke? Well, it is one of two places you can find the birth story(the other being Matthew 1:18-2:23), it is the most "familiar" story, and it contains much more detail than Matthew. One thing we didn't discuss in much depth is why there isn't a birth story in John and Mark. Guess we will save that for another day. We did look for and discuss anything that jumped out at us that we hadn't noticed before. We talked about how special John the Baptist was, how he was set apart from everyone even before he was conceived. We noted that the WOMEN are not only mentioned, they are central to the narrative and they are NAMED! We considered the parallel between the Abraham/Sarah story and Zechariah/Elizabeth, as well as Elijah and John the Baptist. Then we contrasted the birth story in Luke with the story as recorded in Matthew. What a difference!
So, why so different? Probably marketing. Think about the intended audience of the writers. Matthew was a Jew writing for Jews, so tying everything back to the traditions and telling the story in a traditional way would be most important for him. Luke, on the other hand, was a gentile writing for gentiles, working on including EVERYONE in the new church. A church struggling to be cohesive and yet inclusive. The level of detail and point of view don't change the story or how it happened, they merely change the way we hear and understand it. I found this idea strangely comforting, mainly because it supports my understanding of a God who constantly and consistently reaches out to all of us. God wants to be in relationship with us and changes how he reaches out to us, giving every opportunity to respond to His grace. Can you hear him reaching out to you in the birth story?
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