How many times have I started to attempt to read through the Bible, thrilled by the Creation narrative and sobered by the fall, only to get mired in the begats? Well, as I started Matthew 1 this morning, what do I face? Yes, the part that usually gets skipped in the Christmas narratives. Begats.
But pondering some of the names really got me thinking. It's not just names, it's a history of redemption so far. Joseph, the example of obedience, comes from a long line of redemption. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Rahab was the mother of Boaz (or ancestor in any case?) I'd never realized that before. Other familiar names are Hezekiah, Amos, Josiah, David, and so on. Pictures of redemption line Joseph's ancestry. And he would enable the redeemer to come to earth.
The rest of chapter 1 and chapter 2 are familiar -- we read them every Christmas. But the genealogies were the most exciting part of the reading today. Imagine that!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Advent: What, Why and How?
I had the opportunity to lead the Sunday School lesson today. We have just finished studying Rick Warren's very good book on "The Purpose of Christmas" and I thought it would helpful to review a bit of the background of Advent. Perhaps these thoughts will be useful to you as well.
Advent: What?
Think of a time when you were expecting something with longing, but weren't quite sure what it would be like. Maybe your wedding day, graduation from college, a new job or the birth of your child. Think about the planning, the waiting, the tension and the disagreements with others as you waited for the coming event. Think about the joy and the special closeness you felt with others waiting for this event as well.
Now, consider a time when you were expecting something but were pretty sure of what it would be like -- you were just marking time until this thing came to pass. Monthly communion, perhaps, or the birth of a second or third child. Your third or fourth race of a certain distance. Another Christmas? Another Pentecost? The waiting is more annoying than it is constructive. Until you realize that when the event happens, something is different. The differences between the birth you expected and the birth you experienced are too intense to describe. The November race ends up in 6 inches of snow. Something breaks through in the singing of "Joy to the World" or "Hail Thee, Festival Day" that takes your breath away. Or perhaps things don't come together at all the way you expected. I'm sure that my father didn't expect to end up in the hospital with a heart attack on Christmas Day 2004, never to come home again. Even when the expectation is routine, we know that preparation is no less important. We never know what will happen.
Advent is a time of expectation, a gift from our mother, the Church, to prepare us and point us to Christ. It helps us to remember that the Redeemer is already here, but that the Redemption is still at hand. Advent has taken many forms since it first came to the Church in the 4th century, and didn't assume its current four-week structure of hope, peace, joy and love until after the Reformation. But we have it and it is a powerful means to orient us toward Christ in a new way.
Advent: Why?
The Old Testament is full of expectation. As early as Genesis 3:15, with Adam, Eve and the Serpent engaged in comparing and blaming, God promises that enmity -- strife and conflict -- will be the lot between the children of Eve and the Serpent, the personification of temptation. And yet, God promises that the Serpent will bruise the heel of Eve's child, while having his own head crushed. Isaiah, preaching to Israel oppressed by about to be taken into bondage in Assyria, promises that one will come who will be "Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:2-7). He further promises that that one will come in judgment and set everything right (cf. Isaiah 11:1-5). The people of Israel were seeking a king who would relieve them from their oppression and avenge their enemies. We know now how wrong they were -- or do we? We still await the full consolation of Israel, and we know that blaming and comparing still rule in our lives as much as those around us. As Advent points us again toward Christmas as the Christ who came in a way so markedly outside of expectations, can we prepare for His coming?
But what will His coming look like? We know that the Israelites were wrong to look for their knight in shining armor to come riding in on a white horse to take the reigns from whatever nation, ruler or chaos was oppressing them at the time. Their savior came in humblest of means, on a donkey. We rightly await our trumpet sound and king returning in Glory to set things right -- or do we? What will that trumpet sound like? What will Jesus' face look like? What does it really mean to be "caught up with him"? Just as the Israelites had no shortage of prophecy about the true nature of Jesus' coming, many didn't see him because they were still looking for someone else -- someone greater than them -- someone more powerful than them -- because that is what it would take to set things right. But Christ's human form was nothing that people would consider extraordinary at the time. He preached meekness as the investment for inheriting the earth, hunger and thirst as the prerequisite for satisfaction, making peace as the gateway to being a child of God and death as the road to eternal life. No wonder Israel didn't recognize him.
Advent: How?
How will you observe Advent this year? Will you expect another Christmas followed by another New Year, in which things might be different but in all likelihood will be just the same? And how will you know Christ when he comes? Consider what Jesus said about how you will know him:
I lay no claim to having solved this dilemma in my own life, for as I was leaving the church after leading this very lesson, I was approached by a homeless man asking for some food. I, a well-dressed Christian coming from church with only $20 bills in my pockets, hurried past this man, ignoring his pleas. Making mental excuses: "but I have no small change -- but our city leaders ask us to not give money to such as these, they have access to services and we wouldn't want to become the place for more to seek to panhandle in our streets -- but how dare he approach me at an inconvenient time? --how do I know he wouldn't just use the money for booze or drugs?" No, I fear that I may have seen the very Christ I claimed to worship as I left the building but could not make space for him in my own Inn.
May God open our eyes to see and give us wisdom to discern when Christ stand before us with open arms, and give us the grace we need to stop the blaming and comparing and bring about His Kingdom on earth.
Advent: What?
Think of a time when you were expecting something with longing, but weren't quite sure what it would be like. Maybe your wedding day, graduation from college, a new job or the birth of your child. Think about the planning, the waiting, the tension and the disagreements with others as you waited for the coming event. Think about the joy and the special closeness you felt with others waiting for this event as well.
Now, consider a time when you were expecting something but were pretty sure of what it would be like -- you were just marking time until this thing came to pass. Monthly communion, perhaps, or the birth of a second or third child. Your third or fourth race of a certain distance. Another Christmas? Another Pentecost? The waiting is more annoying than it is constructive. Until you realize that when the event happens, something is different. The differences between the birth you expected and the birth you experienced are too intense to describe. The November race ends up in 6 inches of snow. Something breaks through in the singing of "Joy to the World" or "Hail Thee, Festival Day" that takes your breath away. Or perhaps things don't come together at all the way you expected. I'm sure that my father didn't expect to end up in the hospital with a heart attack on Christmas Day 2004, never to come home again. Even when the expectation is routine, we know that preparation is no less important. We never know what will happen.
Advent is a time of expectation, a gift from our mother, the Church, to prepare us and point us to Christ. It helps us to remember that the Redeemer is already here, but that the Redemption is still at hand. Advent has taken many forms since it first came to the Church in the 4th century, and didn't assume its current four-week structure of hope, peace, joy and love until after the Reformation. But we have it and it is a powerful means to orient us toward Christ in a new way.
Advent: Why?
The Old Testament is full of expectation. As early as Genesis 3:15, with Adam, Eve and the Serpent engaged in comparing and blaming, God promises that enmity -- strife and conflict -- will be the lot between the children of Eve and the Serpent, the personification of temptation. And yet, God promises that the Serpent will bruise the heel of Eve's child, while having his own head crushed. Isaiah, preaching to Israel oppressed by about to be taken into bondage in Assyria, promises that one will come who will be "Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:2-7). He further promises that that one will come in judgment and set everything right (cf. Isaiah 11:1-5). The people of Israel were seeking a king who would relieve them from their oppression and avenge their enemies. We know now how wrong they were -- or do we? We still await the full consolation of Israel, and we know that blaming and comparing still rule in our lives as much as those around us. As Advent points us again toward Christmas as the Christ who came in a way so markedly outside of expectations, can we prepare for His coming?
But what will His coming look like? We know that the Israelites were wrong to look for their knight in shining armor to come riding in on a white horse to take the reigns from whatever nation, ruler or chaos was oppressing them at the time. Their savior came in humblest of means, on a donkey. We rightly await our trumpet sound and king returning in Glory to set things right -- or do we? What will that trumpet sound like? What will Jesus' face look like? What does it really mean to be "caught up with him"? Just as the Israelites had no shortage of prophecy about the true nature of Jesus' coming, many didn't see him because they were still looking for someone else -- someone greater than them -- someone more powerful than them -- because that is what it would take to set things right. But Christ's human form was nothing that people would consider extraordinary at the time. He preached meekness as the investment for inheriting the earth, hunger and thirst as the prerequisite for satisfaction, making peace as the gateway to being a child of God and death as the road to eternal life. No wonder Israel didn't recognize him.
Advent: How?
How will you observe Advent this year? Will you expect another Christmas followed by another New Year, in which things might be different but in all likelihood will be just the same? And how will you know Christ when he comes? Consider what Jesus said about how you will know him:
I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me...as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me. (Matthew 25:35-37, 40)Are you waiting for Christ to come with the trumpet sound to catch you and take you away from this mortal coil, where sin and sorrow and death are no more? Or is He calling you to bring about His Kingdom through you, as you move beyond blaming and comparing and disobeying and serve Christ where He said He would be found?
I lay no claim to having solved this dilemma in my own life, for as I was leaving the church after leading this very lesson, I was approached by a homeless man asking for some food. I, a well-dressed Christian coming from church with only $20 bills in my pockets, hurried past this man, ignoring his pleas. Making mental excuses: "but I have no small change -- but our city leaders ask us to not give money to such as these, they have access to services and we wouldn't want to become the place for more to seek to panhandle in our streets -- but how dare he approach me at an inconvenient time? --how do I know he wouldn't just use the money for booze or drugs?" No, I fear that I may have seen the very Christ I claimed to worship as I left the building but could not make space for him in my own Inn.
May God open our eyes to see and give us wisdom to discern when Christ stand before us with open arms, and give us the grace we need to stop the blaming and comparing and bring about His Kingdom on earth.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Some Cape Cod vacation tips: Falmouth edition
Here are a few things we learned about Falmouth this week:
- The Falmouth Public Library has an excellent children's room. Visitors can take out a "courtesy card" that allows up to 6 items at once. We've borrowed books, DVDs and museum passes, which provide discounted or free admission to local attractions (Cape Cod Childrens Museum, Plimoth Plantation, etc.)
- There is a farmers market from May-October on Thursdays downtown. In May-June, the selection is limited, consistent with the New England growing season, but there are fresh breads, seafoods and coffee available. It sure looks like greater variety would be evident later in the summer.
- The Shining Sea Bikeway is excellent, and has been extended another 6 miles north.
- There are no 24-hour laundromats in Falmouth. The three laundromats open early, but close by 10 (last load at 9). Town Laundry on Main Street has a TV and free wi-fi.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil
I've been giving a lot of thought lately to the Genesis 3 narrative, and finding myself in it.
Do you recall what the forbidden fruit is? The Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil... eat of it and you will surely die. Or will you? So tempts the slippery serpent.
For all my years, I've seen this a little more than the first act of disobedience. Sort of like God putting something there just to make us see what we cannot have. And eating of it allowed our first parents to see what they were missing -- clothes. Aha, nakedness must be evil, and it was the fruit of of the tree that opened that up to them. Perhaps this reading is consistent with your understanding. The great thing is that most expositions of this passage focus less on the actual sin and more on the solution, Genesis 3:15.
I've started wondering, though, what the actual knowledge of good and evil looks like. Was there something magic in this fruit that opened Adam and Eve's eyes? Perhaps the forbidden fruit was filled with vitamin K, helping their vision? Indeed, I've come to realize that the knowledge of good and evil arose from the realization that one thought they were better than the other. Eve was the first one to bite, and Adam realized that he had something on her. But he saw that she actually didn't die, so he ate too. Now, they were both ashamed because they started comparing themselves to each other. And they realized that their bodies weren't perfect either. In their shame, they started covering themselves up and hiding from God.
When we draw lines and decide that we are better than our fellow travelers, we gorge on the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. We decide that we know something about goodness that they don't know and hold it over them. We then hide our own deficiencies out of shame. And the fall affects us all.
Jesus came to save us from our shame and guilt. As the first to live without shame, he showed us the way. It's backwards to the fallen world: you lead by serving, you win by dying, you triumph by rising again on the other side of the death that brings final shame to all. May we feast on the fruit of the tree of life and not be ashamed.
Do you recall what the forbidden fruit is? The Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil... eat of it and you will surely die. Or will you? So tempts the slippery serpent.
For all my years, I've seen this a little more than the first act of disobedience. Sort of like God putting something there just to make us see what we cannot have. And eating of it allowed our first parents to see what they were missing -- clothes. Aha, nakedness must be evil, and it was the fruit of of the tree that opened that up to them. Perhaps this reading is consistent with your understanding. The great thing is that most expositions of this passage focus less on the actual sin and more on the solution, Genesis 3:15.
I've started wondering, though, what the actual knowledge of good and evil looks like. Was there something magic in this fruit that opened Adam and Eve's eyes? Perhaps the forbidden fruit was filled with vitamin K, helping their vision? Indeed, I've come to realize that the knowledge of good and evil arose from the realization that one thought they were better than the other. Eve was the first one to bite, and Adam realized that he had something on her. But he saw that she actually didn't die, so he ate too. Now, they were both ashamed because they started comparing themselves to each other. And they realized that their bodies weren't perfect either. In their shame, they started covering themselves up and hiding from God.
When we draw lines and decide that we are better than our fellow travelers, we gorge on the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. We decide that we know something about goodness that they don't know and hold it over them. We then hide our own deficiencies out of shame. And the fall affects us all.
Jesus came to save us from our shame and guilt. As the first to live without shame, he showed us the way. It's backwards to the fallen world: you lead by serving, you win by dying, you triumph by rising again on the other side of the death that brings final shame to all. May we feast on the fruit of the tree of life and not be ashamed.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
School Fundraiser Manifesto
Dear School Board Representative,
I write this time to discuss the use of our children as captive sales agents for private companies. Our son's school today sent home notice of our third fund-raiser since the winter break. One was the coupon book drive, which I believe many schools in the area participated in. The second was the PTA Cake Auction, a popular, parent-led and family involved fund-raiser. The third was a request to provide the names and addresses of 7-10 friends and family members to a magazine marketer, with some of the profits from magazine sales being returned to the school for "school supplies and student and teacher incentives".
First, let me say that I love the cake auction and events like it. They involve the creativity of the students and their parents and teach the students very useful lessons about how markets and prices work. I wish we could do things like this more often without wearing out the idea, but it's a great success for our school.
That said, I'm quite disturbed by the deputation of our children to sell stuff for private companies. Whether wrapping paper, magazines or coupon books, there is a company on the other side of these transactions making money from putting our kids to work as their sales staff. Children are encouraged to participate so forcefully that when we chose to opt out of the coupon book sale and instead make an equivalent cash donation, our son felt left out. Today, he was so excited to write down the names and addresses of our relatives so that he could get a trinket. I'm frankly appalled that our teachers were essentially discouraged from showing the President's address to students unless some clear link could be made to the standards, but class time is taken up to get them to sell overpriced (maybe) stuff to their unsuspecting relatives for a private company's profit.
Is our school district budget really so constrained that our children need to hit up their fixed income grandparents for another magazine subscription? Don't teachers get supplies contributed by parents? We'd be far happier to provide supplies requested than sell out our siblings' contact information. The letter accompanying the magazine fund raiser suggested "staff incentives". I don't know about other teachers, but I get incentives. They're called a job and a salary. The salary goes up when I get good teacher evaluations and publish successfully and the job ends when I don't. If we can't compensate our teachers appropriately, then the school district needs to trim expenses in other areas (like retired administrators now serving as high-salary consultants in the school district office) or request a tax increase.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, when we use our children as the sales agents for private companies, we send several messages to our children. First, we provide them with an opportunity to learn sales skills. I know that this is an invaluable skill, but I resent having them learned under duress and at such a young age. But on the down side, we tell our children that it's ok to pay more than market value for something. This attitude that has led to record consumer debt. We tell our children that competition doesn't matter because people will pay more than market value for a cause. This is no different from asking our children to go hat in hand from door to door asking for contributions for our struggling schools. It tells our children that our community doesn't really value public education, since they, at ages 4 and up, have to do their part to raise the funding for it.
No, I'm not generally opposed to fund raisers. For specific purposes, extracurricular activities, sports, and even PTA/PTO support they are vital. I am vehemently opposed to conscription of our children to private profit-making companies for operating budget support. I am even more opposed to using classroom time to train the children to make poor economic decisions and guilt them into participating in a wrong-headed fundraiser.
You have been a good listener to my concerns in the past. Please help me know how to communicate these concerns to the board and the superintendent.
Best regards,
Bitter Man
I write this time to discuss the use of our children as captive sales agents for private companies. Our son's school today sent home notice of our third fund-raiser since the winter break. One was the coupon book drive, which I believe many schools in the area participated in. The second was the PTA Cake Auction, a popular, parent-led and family involved fund-raiser. The third was a request to provide the names and addresses of 7-10 friends and family members to a magazine marketer, with some of the profits from magazine sales being returned to the school for "school supplies and student and teacher incentives".
First, let me say that I love the cake auction and events like it. They involve the creativity of the students and their parents and teach the students very useful lessons about how markets and prices work. I wish we could do things like this more often without wearing out the idea, but it's a great success for our school.
That said, I'm quite disturbed by the deputation of our children to sell stuff for private companies. Whether wrapping paper, magazines or coupon books, there is a company on the other side of these transactions making money from putting our kids to work as their sales staff. Children are encouraged to participate so forcefully that when we chose to opt out of the coupon book sale and instead make an equivalent cash donation, our son felt left out. Today, he was so excited to write down the names and addresses of our relatives so that he could get a trinket. I'm frankly appalled that our teachers were essentially discouraged from showing the President's address to students unless some clear link could be made to the standards, but class time is taken up to get them to sell overpriced (maybe) stuff to their unsuspecting relatives for a private company's profit.
Is our school district budget really so constrained that our children need to hit up their fixed income grandparents for another magazine subscription? Don't teachers get supplies contributed by parents? We'd be far happier to provide supplies requested than sell out our siblings' contact information. The letter accompanying the magazine fund raiser suggested "staff incentives". I don't know about other teachers, but I get incentives. They're called a job and a salary. The salary goes up when I get good teacher evaluations and publish successfully and the job ends when I don't. If we can't compensate our teachers appropriately, then the school district needs to trim expenses in other areas (like retired administrators now serving as high-salary consultants in the school district office) or request a tax increase.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, when we use our children as the sales agents for private companies, we send several messages to our children. First, we provide them with an opportunity to learn sales skills. I know that this is an invaluable skill, but I resent having them learned under duress and at such a young age. But on the down side, we tell our children that it's ok to pay more than market value for something. This attitude that has led to record consumer debt. We tell our children that competition doesn't matter because people will pay more than market value for a cause. This is no different from asking our children to go hat in hand from door to door asking for contributions for our struggling schools. It tells our children that our community doesn't really value public education, since they, at ages 4 and up, have to do their part to raise the funding for it.
No, I'm not generally opposed to fund raisers. For specific purposes, extracurricular activities, sports, and even PTA/PTO support they are vital. I am vehemently opposed to conscription of our children to private profit-making companies for operating budget support. I am even more opposed to using classroom time to train the children to make poor economic decisions and guilt them into participating in a wrong-headed fundraiser.
You have been a good listener to my concerns in the past. Please help me know how to communicate these concerns to the board and the superintendent.
Best regards,
Bitter Man
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Washington Nationals Park
Wow, sometimes it's unbelievable how the pace differs between National League games and American League games. I think the last NL game I went to before last night was John Smoltz' complete game 3 hitter in Atlanta, which lasted 2:35. Last night's Nationals/Cardinals affair was hardly a pitchers' duel, given that every single run was scored on a homer, and the game was still over in 2:40. I can't remember the last Sox game I went to that went less than 3 hours, and many have been much, much longer.
In a nutshell, Pujols is as dangerous as advertised. Jordan Zimmerman, pitching in his third major league game, pitched admirably and sharply, but made a few too many mistakes, including an early one to Pujols, and eventually gave up a tater to batters 2-5 before his night was done. The Cards dominated this game in every sense, but there wasn't a lot of excitement. Two double plays, I think? The most exciting moment was the fastest trip around the bases on a homer I have ever seen.
The park (#12 franchise, #13 stadium for me) was nice and clean and our seats were in the club level, which meant padded seats, nice amenities and short lines. But in general, I was underwhelmed. Of the newest stadiums, AT&T, PNC and Citizens Bank Parks have a lot more personality. Beer selection was poor, service was worse and fan intensity was non-existent. Food was mediocre. It certainly seemed that Cardinals fans outnumbers Nats fans, at least in intensity. The spectacle scoreboards had so many gimmicks, I could have sworn I was at a minor league game. And why do so many teams (my Bucs included) insist on copying the old sausage race tradition of Milwaukee? I certainly would rather have a clear announcement of a pitching change (which we did not have) than a stupid "kiss-cam" or follow the baby in the bucket game.
I guess if we sat in the upper decks, we'd have had a nice view of the Capitol and Washington Monument, but from where we were, nothing special.
I'd go to another game there if I happened to be in DC on a game night, but if I go out of my way to go to a game in the DC area, it will be in Baltimore...
In a nutshell, Pujols is as dangerous as advertised. Jordan Zimmerman, pitching in his third major league game, pitched admirably and sharply, but made a few too many mistakes, including an early one to Pujols, and eventually gave up a tater to batters 2-5 before his night was done. The Cards dominated this game in every sense, but there wasn't a lot of excitement. Two double plays, I think? The most exciting moment was the fastest trip around the bases on a homer I have ever seen.
The park (#12 franchise, #13 stadium for me) was nice and clean and our seats were in the club level, which meant padded seats, nice amenities and short lines. But in general, I was underwhelmed. Of the newest stadiums, AT&T, PNC and Citizens Bank Parks have a lot more personality. Beer selection was poor, service was worse and fan intensity was non-existent. Food was mediocre. It certainly seemed that Cardinals fans outnumbers Nats fans, at least in intensity. The spectacle scoreboards had so many gimmicks, I could have sworn I was at a minor league game. And why do so many teams (my Bucs included) insist on copying the old sausage race tradition of Milwaukee? I certainly would rather have a clear announcement of a pitching change (which we did not have) than a stupid "kiss-cam" or follow the baby in the bucket game.
I guess if we sat in the upper decks, we'd have had a nice view of the Capitol and Washington Monument, but from where we were, nothing special.
I'd go to another game there if I happened to be in DC on a game night, but if I go out of my way to go to a game in the DC area, it will be in Baltimore...
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Alleluia, Christ is Risen!
The Lord is Risen, Indeed! Alleluia!
Easter Festival Bread... from Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice.
Easter Festival Bread... from Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice.
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