Thoughts on Advent...

I was thinking about the season of advent earlier today, and sat down to write some thoughts down for the next Missions Musings, an informal newsletter I put out at our church throughout the year updating folks on what's going on in outreach.

I wrote from a somewhat different slant this time. Instead of sharing updates, news and opportunities, I wanted to reflect on the season of advent and the connections that I perceived from a familiar verse of Scripture and how it may be an encouragement and challenge to us as we seek to share Christ's love with others.

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace to men on whom his favor rests.’
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them about this child.”
-Luke: 2:7-18

Advent: A Season of Expectant Waiting
Most of us are familiar with the above passage from Luke. So much so, that perhaps in our familiarity and rush through this contemplative time of year, we even skim it because of its familiarity.

I would love to encourage you to reread it and meditate on it for a moment with this thought in mind:
In today’s world, the only exposure that many people have to this Scripture is through the Charlie Brown Christmas Special, when Linus shares the message of expectant hope with Charlie Brown, who blew it again by getting a dorky little Christmas tree, one that could even be compared to “the least of these.” Who on earth would pick such a pathetic tree?

Yet Christ came for all of us, yet an alarming number of people in our world don’t have any idea of who He is. You don’t need to travel to Mozambique to meet them, either, they live right in your community. As representatives of Christ it is our calling and responsibility (known as the Great Commission) to share him with those who don’t yet know him.

When we love Christ with a passion, it is then a sobering thought to think about how many people there are who don’t (yet) know Christ. Of course, part of the reason for this may be precisely because of Christians they DID know. Were they hypocritical? Did they live any differently than the rest of the world? Were they judgmental? A great book to read about perceptions that non-Christians have of Christians is UnChristian. It is precisely how I felt for years.

If you are a Christian, how many non-Christians do you interact with, and even more so, have relationships with on an ongoing basis? Dan Kimball refers to this as living in the Christian Bubble, when we no longer have any friends outside of the church.

Recently a group from CMF met with Doug Diven, Director of Hand Up Foundation, (HUF), who spoke about his call to start the HUF Ministry. He described a “Holy Discontent” when he realized he didn’t have any non-Christian friends. And that really bugged him.

As I contemplate sharing Christ with others and developing friendships and relationships with others who don’t know Jesus and think about the above Scripture, I am both encouraged and challenged.

The Scriptures say that the shepherds lived nearby where the baby Jesus was to be born, and that they were busy tending their flocks. It reminds me of our place in our community and how we also live nearby to a place where great things may happen. Not the birth of the Messiah, but having the privilege of being the hands and feet of Jesus to our neighbors; while still tending our flocks (families, responsibilities, church events, etc.)

It also clearly says that the shepherds were terrified. Yup, it’s scary to do something new and different especially when the directive comes from unseen messengers…it’s more comfortable to stay home.

But the shepherds obeyed, and went to Bethlehem and were blessed. I believe we may also be blessed if we leave our routines and comfort zones and respond when God calls us.

There’s a catch, though, and that’s the obedience part. Ya gotta get up and do it. Hard? Sometimes. Scary? Sure. Rewarding? Beyond belief!

And finally, when the shepherds returned to their normal lives, they spoke about what they had seen, and the fact that “all who heard it were amazed.”

In a situation where we go out and serve, while we may certainly go back and share our experiences with others and be amazed (at how God uses us), I think the real amazement will be from those whom we serve. The question, "Why on earth would someone who doesn't even know me give two hoots about what happens to me?" It begs an answer.

And through that sharing others will hear about our Jesus.

This advent season (and beyond) won’t you join me in waiting expectantly for Christ and the opportunity to share him with others outside the four walls of church?

May peace abide in you and radiate from you as you pause to reflect upon the season of advent.

From Faith Inaction to Faith in Action

I have to say, we had a really great message in church this morning. Our Faith in Action campaign culminated with service projects last weekend, and over 170 people from our church contributed almost 600 volunteer hours. And it was raining...and one of the guys had just lost his job the day before but came to serve joyfully anyway.
In church today we heard from some of those who served and how it affected them. I joked that they didn't ask me to share because they only wanted one to two minute snippets. Impossible...

And then the message was on putting hands and feet to our faith, that basically "faith without deeds is dead" (James 2:26). Basically, we need to live our faith, not just give it lip service. This is my language, and actually the central message of a Bible Study I have that will be released in March, UNDOING CHURCH: NOT YOUR MOTHER'S BIBLE STUDY about being the church, not just going to church.

But I thought about moving from inaction to action and the things that stop us in our tracks, all basically lies meant to keep us in a paralyzed state of inertia:

• One person can't make a difference.
• I'm not qualified.
• I'm too busy.
• We're all going to die anyway, so why bother.
• It's not in my job description, my problem, blah, blah, blah...

But here's the deal, if we're Christians, we must act. "Saving faith moves your head, your heart and our hands. Faith alone saves us, but the Faith which saves us in not alone."

These words were spoken by our pastor this morning, and I wanted to jump out of my seat and scream, "YES!" It's the Samaritan lifestyle, something I have been giving a great deal of thought to lately. To have, to take, to make the time to be aware of life and needs around us, to be moving slowly enough to respond, and not simply wave off the needs as a nuisance or an interruption. To adopt the Samaritan lifestyle guarantees interruptions, but also blessings.

How do you live your faith? There is a hymn that has the words, "They will know that we are Christians by our Love". Have you read the book UnChristian? Love is not a word that most non-Christians use to describe us. Hypocrites, homo phobics and judgemental are closer to the top of the list. So do something to put your faith in action and change the perception. I know that those we served got a glimpse of Christian love through our service, our faith in action last weekend, but it is a lifestyle, not a program or campaign.

I echo here the verse our pastor used in closing, "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here am I. Send me'" (Isaiah 6:8). And I want to go.

Update on Duffle Stuffing Passenger

Remember the obnoxious (in my humble opinion) passenger that argued with the flight attendant while trying to stuff an enormous duffle into the overhead I wrote about earlier?

Well, it gets worse. While we were waiting in SPS for the flight to Roatan, I struck up a conversation with another guy who was also on both flights. It is pretty confusing waiting for the small flights. Times change all the time, boarding is haphazard and usually requires at least two strolls out and back on the tarmac while they change their minds, change planes, change pilots, forget to load luggage, who knows. Whatever.

So a flight had just boarded through the gate we were to go through at the time they had originally said, but this other passenger was still seated inside the waiting room, so I thought conferring might be in order. OK. Not our flight, but we did keep chatting.

Apparently he chatted with this other guy while waiting in the customs line. I should have taken a photo of that, but thought a riot might break out, because the potential for that apart from photo opps seemed to be growing. An entire jet load of passengers and two agents, manually processing everyone, including taking a photo. And kids and wheelchairs kept merging from the left, which was fine, until other able bodied passengers thought they could do the same. They probably learned to drive in either New Jersey or Massachusetts, where that rude behavior happens all the time...

Anyway, get ready for this. Do you know why the guy was coming to Honduras? To serve on a medical mission team. I just cringed. Now granted, you don't necessarily need to love or believe in Jesus to serve on one of these gigs, but most of the time either or is part of the motivation. Or at least to others it is something that is representative of "church" work or "religion". I cringed again.

So this brash, rude and argumentative American was in Honduras sharing the love of Christ as part of a medical team. No wonder there are droves of people leaving the church stateside if this is what your average Christian acts like. So he was reading CS Lewis. So what? His actions were brash, rude and embarassing. Hope I don't sound too judgmental; that is always a risk when I observe and make an observation about irksome behavior.

The moral of this story? Let's also, or mostly, or even soley convey the love of Christ through our actions. Like St. Francis said, Share the Gospel always, use words if necessary.