The spiritual/Christian claim regarding our mortality is an honest one. It includes the claims of the limits of our existence, and goes past that with the promise of eternal life because of Jesus’ victory over the grave. Many of us, actively Christian or not, can take the first part about mortality pretty honestly. Over the years, though, I have come to understand the deepening value of the entire Christian claim, both sides of this equation, mortality and eternal life, as equally valid and real. Yet there is one more part of this equation that sometimes gets lost: new life now. 

You see, we move from Ash Wednesday into the Lenten “exhortations”, as they called, to pray, fast, and be concerned with the care of others with acts of charity and benevolence. It can be safely said that we move from an acknowledgement of death into practices of life humbly for ourselves and daringly for the sake of our neighbor. So we “journey” with our Lord these days to Palm Sunday and Holy Week not with a heavy heart but with the full promise that Lent (which means “springtime” in Old English) brings. Yes, the ashes we use on Ash Wednesday are the remains of palms from Palm Sundays past, including last year, as a way to help us remember the continuity/rhythm of the themes over these years. We “remember” we are dust, sure. We also “remember” what we are to be about as followers of Jesus and his compassion for all as we pray, fast, and be especially “charitable” to others in His Name. And we remember the promise of eternal life. Millions of people around the world take part in this kind of remembering. Today, let the remembering in all its richness, begin with us, too.

                   Still, the bigger wonderment of the day was that Jesus came down from the hill to face certain and predictable death. He could have said “no thanks” to that portion of the Christian story, yet he went ahead anyway with his disciples reluctantly in tow.

I have heard this story for decades now. The hearing and telling of it hasn’t diminished its impact. And for the next six weeks we have the chance to once again enter into that story.

I wonder, each year, who is the person I most identify with in the move toward Jerusalem: is it Peter and his wrenching betrayal of Jesus? How do I contemplate that?  Or how about Pilate, and his reluctant yet duty-bound decision to have Jesus crucified? And, I have no idea what it must have been like to have been in Mary’s place, watching her son Jesus do the things he did, a “sword piercing her own heart” as predicted at the time of his Presentation in the Temple some thirty years prior to all this mayhem.

Give yourself the chance to take time and have the drama of Our Lord’s last days on earth play out in your own life. This column will be one place for you to do that, in its own little way, over the next six weeks. It will be work to do so, but well worth the effort. ”Soli Deo Gloria!”    

Another tale (not found in the Bible) is that they appeared after “the Fall” as a comfort for Adam and Eve when they were expelled fom the Garden of Eden in the Genesis story. Very small comfort, it seems to me, but better than nothing!     

We are a few days away from our particularly (or is it “peculiarly”?) American custom of pulling out a reluctant rodent from his hole in the ground and having him “predict” more or fewer Winter days, based on whether or not he sees his shadow. Obviously a great tourism gig (and arguably a great film with Bill Murray), Ground Hog’s Day can be enhanced by something a bit more profound and worshipful: “Candlemas”, a pre-Spring/pre-Lenten blessing of the church’s candles for the upcoming year. The service’s official day is Feb. 2 (Feb. 1 in our case), and it sets aside a pleasant  and prayerful ritual, asking God’s blessing on all the candlelights used during worship for the upcoming year. We also encourage people to bring devotional candle(s) from home, for example ones used for “home altars,” so that they too can bear the light of Christ and “shine” into people’s lives away from the main worship space at church.

The combination of candles and flowers is one that will soon morph into the upcoming and much more popular Valentine’s Day celebration, again an interesting twist on what was once mostly a commemoration of a Christian martyr, St. Valentinus. I’m all for Ground Hog’s Day–it’s kind of cute; and, I’m for Valentine’s Day as in its current presentation– especially the champaigne and chocolate aspects! But before we get too far into those celebrations, I’m glad to pause and smell the snowdrops, and ask for God’s Light to luminate in any way our small yet determined practice to light “candles in the rain” (thanks to the ’60′s musician Melanie for that one).        

In the synoptic (not “Gnostic”) gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and in a different order in John’s Gospel, episodes of his life include being tempted by Satan in the wilderness, and cleaning out the money changers from the temple. In these events we see our Lord living out his calling as the bringer of God’s kingdom as an alternative to the flawed ones already set in place by his own people, and also by the Empire of Rome, which had been occupying Judea and its surroundings for some time. The gist of Jesus’ mission was to get things going to include all kinds of people, including “foreigners” and outcasts, as being recipients of and bearers with Him for what God’s reign would actually look like. One of the ways that can happen for us is in the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” that takes place this year between January 18 and January 25. It may seem like an odd thing to do, yet in John’s Gospel, Jesus spends some time praying and encouraging that “they may be one” as he and the Father are one. I find it very helpful that the best aspects of our faith have to do with including, not excluding, with uniting, not dividing. Jesus’ actions brought light on these things in his time. And (yawn!) certainly the history of Christianity bears great blame for past and current divisiveness on many levels of society; I “get that” idea already. Yet the truth is that Christianity, following Jesus’ alternative Way, also is responsible for untold and immeasurable healing and good in the world. Individuals and churches are actually responsible for that, too.  That I would dare to consider and take a week to ponder what it would mean in some way to see my fellow Christians as partners, and not adversaries, is helpful, and challenging. Just among Lutherans in America, there is a wide range of belief and practice, some of it easily explained and justified, yet all of it subject to the larger prayer of the One who we all call Lord.

Wonder with me this week: what kind of kingdom have I, with Jesus, been “baptized” into? What “tempts me” from within and without to ignore His gracious Way? And what kind of spiritual and life-practice “cleaning out” needs to take place so that God’s embracing kingdom is turned from dream into reality? Can we say with Martin Luther King Jr. ”I Have a Dream” for our time, our circumstances, and bring it to fruition as faithful, courageous  people?

Nonetheless, people get into the spirit of the New Year observance, with parties and such to give thanks for the previous year (or say “good riddance” to it). I’m thankful that I don’t have a picture like this one on the left (“Guy Lombardo”, anyone?) to pop up some unexpected time, or like the one below, where who knows what was going on; and would these guys remember, anyway? “TMI!” no doubt.

The apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians about “forgetting what lies behind” and “pressing forward” to what lies ahead, making room for the new life in Christ to begin. Of course he wasn’t talking about any New Year celebration, but perhaps something deeper in people’s hearts that is a part of wanting something new, better, complete to replace one’s old, mundane, fractured life. The Christian claim is that attention to Our Lord Jesus’ way of life can provide such newness. Not a “remix” of the old, but rather “a new creation” as Paul would write to the Roman Christians  of his time. Something wholly different than the best Top Ten list; something healing for remembering the good, the bad, or the ugly of the past; something invigorating that transforms the present and moves one into the future with hope, and not fear. Perhaps for 2012 one can move to become soulfully grounded in finding out what it means to follow Jesus’ way. My hope is always that a community of faith, “warts and all,” is the most effective place for that to occur. I know: the old John Prine song said “they all found Jesus on their own”. But I wonder how even now people can connect with the Holy without having some assistance along the way. I see the value of community all the time: on Christmas Day,  at worship just last week, I had he privelege of welcoming a new sister into the faith by the promises given in the waters of baptism, her whole life ahead of her at age one-ish. Then, not six hours later, I was at the bedside of another sister in Christ, whose life had ended after 70+ years, commending her to the care of her Lord for eternity, her family gathered around for the prayers and promises there, too.

I see no reason to stop being part of such a spiritual search. Or encouraging others to give it a serious shot in 2012. A well-respected spiritual director had some frustrating yet accurate wisdom to impart to a directee seeking clarity about many important matters. No matter what the “issue” was, the “discernment” from the director to the directee was always this: “Let’s see what happens.”

Happy New Year! In Christ, let’s see what happens!

Speculation about these things have circulated for centuries. Both the faithful and those who doubt–the genuinely concerned and even the “fringe” of the faithful and the skeptic, respectfully– mull over the Christian claims and speculations about the Incarnation. They are often used as platforms for supporting or debunking their own opinions. I find this all fascinating, and good fun, but not worth getting into what I call “theological rock fights” about what inevitably comes down to be side-shows to the main attraction of faith.

We may find it humbling to be reminded that God did all this “Jesus business” without anyone’s permission. Frankly, what we do with the angel’s announcement to the shepherds, “unto you (all) is born this day…”,  is the essential question to respond to. It is the “plural you” that first bids a response from us. And then comes the “individual you” that each one of us has to deal with. Lutherans generally don’t buy into the “personal Lord and Savior” appeal of “decision theology” that other evangelicals champion. Although, Luther himself made a pretty big deal about the “gurgling babe” born “for you,” the Bethlehem child apprehended by each believer’s heart as a life-saving encounter.

Ah well….Perhaps it is enough and proper to simply sit and wonder for a day or two that “unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.” –Isaiah 9:6

Merry Christmas to all. Really. Now and always.

So said the angel Gabriel to Mary. We are at the start of what I like to call “Christmas Week”; why wait till starting with Christmas Eve or Christmas Day and do the 12-Day routine? (I’ll do that too, but that’s another column).

Getting back to the angel and Mary. Artists have done their best to capture the event as seen in this rendering here. As an essential part of the Christmas story, we are invited into our own imaginative attempts to wonder what it would have been like. My own take is that when a genuine encounter with the Holy takes place, the first response is usually one of fear. Abraham and Sarah come to mind; Moses and his encounter(s) with Yahweh have that aspect; Elijah and his hiding in a cave certainly had that as a component, too. Fear (and disbelief) is there with Mary’s “kinswoman” Elizabeth (miraculously pregnant with John the Baptist) and her husband Zechariah. That the angel says for Mary not to fear confirms the  very human aspect of this event. 

I have never knowingly met an angel. Although the New Testament letter to The Hebrews says that we ought to be kind to strangers, for we may be “entertaining angels unawares.” Frankly, I would be scared spitless in the presence of such a creature, known or unknown; I think any of us would pick upon some sort of “vibe” if one popped by, don’t you think?

The movie/TV angels are great for what they are, with  Cary Grant, or Nicholas Cage, John Tavolta, or Della Reese acting those parts. Yet they are still limited. Especially compared to one that had a message like Gabriel had to deliver to Mary. 

Nonetheless, Mary gets over whatever fear she may have had: she listens, agrees, waits, and conceives. The whole “virgin birth” squabbles for centuries are beside the point for me; I’m content to hold it as a true matter of faith, yet ultimately unanswerable for many good reasons. What matters, anyway, is the main function of the idea that Mary was ready, and willing, to be the “God-bearer” (“Theotokos” in Greek). And further that we, too, can bear/bring God’s grace to others if we listen to what God wants done with us. We are all called to be “pregnant” (!), if you will, with such grace-full news: “God saves!” that is what Jesus’ “Emanuel/God-with-us” name means. Wonder about that with me during this “Christmas Week.”  Where can it also lead us, very similar to (and different from) the way it changed with Mary’s life forever?

The “Wise Men” also perceived the place of Bethlehem as necessary for such a birth (Matthew 2). Other prophecies about what kind of kingdom would occur have been attributed to Isaiah. In Isaiah 9:2-7 is the famous “unto us a child is born…” passage, and the names for him as “Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father”, and “Prince of Peace”.

Isaiah 11:1-9 picks up on this image of a reign of peace with “the peaceable kingdom” passages. These have inspired artists for centuries, including the outrageous and improbable scenes of wolf with lamb, leopard with goat, calf next to lion, cow cozying up to bear…. A “little child will lead them” (v.6), the infant “will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child will put his hand into the viper’s nest” (v.8). All “getting along” rather well!  

We don’t have any of those animals at home; we do have cat and dog, and, as these pictures show, it’s not quite the peaceable kingdom at our house.   Nonetheless, the imagination of such a rule or reign fits in well with what this season is supposed to bring about. In fact, one does well to get familiar with the  writings of  scholar Walter Brueggeman to have a beginning grasp about all this.  It serves us well enough now to simply say that the reign of the “Prince of Peace” has yet to fully take hold. Yet my wonderings, amidst all the anything-but-peaceful world we live in today, is to ponder what a horribly ruined world we would have if it weren’t for people of “good will”, spanning the centuries, motivated by the teachings and example of Jesus, the Prince of Peace. South African believer Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and most recently Nobel Prize winner  Leymah Gwobee from Liberia serve as examples of determinately following the peaceful lead of their Lord, against horrific odds and life-threatening opposition.

Our own day-to-day situations are seldom quite so despairing as those faced by (Anglican) Bishop Tutu and (Lutheran) Ms. Gwobee. Should they be that way? As faithful followers of Christ here in America where matters of faith and its applications are an option, an “elective” activity  for most of us–well, that is certainly a fair queston to ask. Here’s my “short” answer to that: the truth is that injustice knows no national or personal boundary. You and I, then, have our own situations, big and small, where an approach by peace, with mercy, grace, forgiveness, reconciliation, compassion–not violence or indifference – is a call to usher in the kind of peace that Jesus was born for, lived into, and went to the cross and accomplished for this whole world–cats and dogs included. Such is an Advent hope with some challenging “grit” placed before us; live into that kind of call.

We are at Advent now, the four weeks prior to Christmas. It is a season set apart in its own way, and not simply a way to “countdown to Christmas.” The word means “to come”, as in actively waiting for Jesus to come into our world, not only by remembering his first arrival in Bethlehem; and, not only at the end of time to bring about God’s completion of the kingdom. We are right now to be engaged in “in the meantime” to bring forth God’s alternative kingdom of mercy, grace, and justice.   

Unlike the fading limitations of the popularly marketed “Purpose Driven” approach, it’s a time of deep reflection about matters of faith and service to others in His name that go beyond a ”40 day” mentality. Advent themes also have to do with Christ’s Second Coming, but not at all in the cheesy “Left Behind” series way (one of the best bumper stickers yet seen in this regard is “When the Rapture Comes, Can I Have Your Mercedes?”). That Christ will come again is part of the Christian claim, but it has much more to it than getting worked up about speculative nonsense regarding who gets to be in the kingdom, and who gets hammered by God–and the “Tribulation Force” malarky. Enough of that already.  

I can even understand how someone who has no interest or connection to matters of faith would think that any of this would be worth pursuing; I get it, and I’ve heard it too, and from some very thoughtful agnostics. Yet my own preference about Advent is the traditional one. And I maintain that even those who get sidetracked about matters of faith or non-faith can be drawn toward the richness of what many of us, throughout the world, traditionally pursue, if they really want to know what Advent is about.

Even so, the “Wondering” for this week is purposely evasive: “Watch.” Watch around for evidence of God at work, hopefully mimicked by and embodied within those who claim to follow Jesus. See the kingdom coming. Take time to explore what it means, starting here online, or better yet, at worship these crisp Sundays.

This part of Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount” is a favorite piece of scripture for many. The whole chapter deals with what I call “religious grand-standing” and its consequences: don’t ”show-boat” your generosity to those in need; keep your prayers between yourself and God and not to impress hearers by your supposed eloquence; and, go about your daily activities without calling attention to your own piety. The chapter ends (verse 20) with another famous quote: “For where you treasure is there your heart will be also.”

I bring this up not simply because the NFL quarterback Tim Tebow is in the current news cycle (usually two weeks, tops); his very obvious faith and expressions of it, mingled with a (so far) ”ho-hum” entrance into the wild world of professional football, have given him grief. Folks are taking sides with him, and against him. Don’t people have better things to do? (And the unfolding mess at Penn State puts this Tebow tussle into perspective). I will say, though, that it certainly appears that some of this he brought onto himself with his overtly evangelical Christian background, and, some of it is sourced from  a ”let’s find something–anything!–to gang up on a personality” mentality that occupies some folks’ point of view nowadays. In other words: if it wasn’t Tebow and this issue, it would be something and/or someone else for people like this to gripe about…. 

Back to Matthew 6 and my “grandstanding” bit, and an answer that is found on my office desk. Here’s how it reads (from CrossMarks Christian Resources):

An  Amish man was once asked by an enthusiastic  young evangelist if whether he had been saved, and whether he had accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. The gentleman replied, “Why do you ask me such a thing? I could tell you anything. Here are the names of my banker, my grocer, and my farm hands. Ask them if I have been saved.”

This response, it seems to me, goes a long way to answer our question about proper expressions of faith: see the humble acts of faith produced in a person’s life (and often done without expectation of a “reward” from God, or, any human). Another “proverb” along these lines goes like this: “you are the only Bible some people will ever read.” One more: “Walk the walk, don’t just talk the talk.”

Or, as Jesus said, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

I hope you would agree that we need more of this approach and less of the other. It’s not going to make any news cycle. But it will likely show the proximity of what we treasure, where our hearts are located, and how God’s kingdom genuinely comes around.