Why I'm sad the world didn't end a year ago

As you may have noticed the world did not end on 12/21/12, and a year later we are still here. Don't get me wrong, I had no expectation the world would end last year. The Mayans have joined the long list of people who have incorrectly guessed when the world would end.

But it still makes me kind of sad.  Allow me to explain.

Often we think of the apocalypse as some horrible event, this great disaster which we all live in dread of. It is very human to see Judgement Day as some terrible day to be feared.  It sounds like a day of punishment and every nightmarish depiction of Hell. But in truth the Day of Judgement is a day of justice.

For now the wrath of God is being held back and building, waiting for the day of release. Judgement Day will be the day when every hurt, every wrong, and every sin will be redeemed and washed away. There will be justice for every crime committed against another. God is not mute to the sufferings of the world. It is with this future hope of justice Paul writes Romans 12:19
"Never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord."

Judgement Day will be the day when sickness, cancer, sex slavery, oppression, exploitation, and every other horrible thing which plagues humanity will be defeated. It will be glorious! It will be a day of true justice. No more suffering.

And it's hard to wait sometimes. This world is a dark and broken place, there are a lot of terrible things happening to people who God deeply loves, and it seems like there is no end in sight. Humanity will never save itself.  But our great God of Justice will. And I yearn for that day.

Advent in France: Peace

Every Advent I love contemplating the awesome Truth of Emmanuel; "God with us" (Mt 1:23, Isa 7:14).  I am continually amazed by God; after I had rejected Him and have betrayed him on a daily basis, He still chose to come back and be with someone like me.  It's crazy.

In John 1:9-13 we see the sad truth of God coming back to this beautiful creation of His, now marred  by sin, and not being recognized.  There are examples of darkness all around us and the internet has only heightened this availability.  But the passage does not end here.  In verse 12 and 13 we see hope break through.  We who have become enemies of God have a way back home.  We can have peace with our Creator not based upon our efforts but because of His efforts.

With less than a week to go before Christmas, let us each make room for this awesome gift of peace in our lives.  Emmanuel has come and is coming.  May we celebrate the peace we have in Him.

Advent in France: Hope

For those who don't know we recently moved to France where we will working for the next two years.  It has already been an awesome adventure filled with fun, friends, and culture-shock.

It is also hard to believe we are already eight days into December.  As with each year it seems, Advent is whirling past too quickly.  Or I am too busy sorting out a new life, new ministry, new culture to take the necessary time to ruminate upon the themes of Advent.

I love Advent, I love this season of waiting, darkness, and solemn contemplation.  I love the first Sunday's title of "hope"; Advent begins with hope.  As I have previously discussed in Advents passed, we celebrate Advent not only as remembrance of Jesus's first Advent, but also looking forward to His awaited second Advent.  This is why I have hope, the story is not over.

With this year's Advent season the question I have been pondering is how to embody this hope?  As I am learning to engage with a new culture how do I live in a way that reflects this Advent truth?

The best example I have found to follow is John the Baptist.  Isaiah prophesies about John saying:

A voice cries out:
"In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.  Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.  Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken." (Isa 40:3-5)

We see John went before Jesus and prepared for His first Advent.  John's life was lived to make way for Jesus's coming into the world, and this is our great calling.  We too can live out and live in the Truth of Jesus's first Advent and His second Advent, and by doing so we have the opportunity to prepare the way for His coming.  I love how the Isaiah passage concludes, about the LORD's glory being revealed and all people, from all sorts of backgrounds and beliefs, seeing it together.  What a wonderful image.  We also see John's mission was not dependent upon his abilities, his tactics, but ultimately upon the LORD and His declaration.  The LORD has spoken His Truth and we have the privilege of walking out and embodying this.

So let us go out into this dark world carrying to hope of Advent, let us make a way in this desolate land, and let us live to see His glory revealed and everyone invited in.

A Going Away Party for Who?

 

Emily and I will be moving to Grenoble France on October 28th (6 days from now).  It's a crazy story that has led us to this point, and I know the truly thrilling part is just about to begin.  We will keep you posted, don't worry the internet works in France too.

Last Saturday evening we had a going away party with our Sacramento friends, and it was a really wonderful time to see dear people we have missed as we've been preparing.  Being an extrovert I did not want the evening to end.  As the night progressed I realized this party was not just for Emily and I.

During my seven years in Davis and the last three in Sacramento I have watched as many good friends have come and gone off to do wild and crazy things.  This is a wonderful reality, and I have always been happy for my friends, but the truth is it's hard to be the one remaining behind.  Those leaving have new adventures and new worlds to immerse themselves in, while those left have a world now diminished.

Having time to celebrate together is important; those leaving need it, but those left need it too.  Moving away without saying good bye can be easy for those moving because it avoids the dreaded task of having to say good bye to everyone.  Making time to say good bye and to celebrate friendships is a way to honor those relationships and provide those left behind with some mark of closure.

I have really appreciated every going away party in which I have been able to wish the adventurer the best, and I was glad to have the opportunity to provide others with this as well.

Friends and family, you make life wonderful.  We cherish the memories we have, and look forward to adventures to come.

Music theorist vs. Musician

In college I had two majors: music composition and microbiology.  Of these two degrees music was the more challenging of the two, because rather than simply studying and regurgitating information it required my synthesis of new musical scores and performances.

I thoroughly enjoyed my study of music, but I found my biggest handicap was my lack of musicianship.  To be honest I hate practicing (still do).  Most of my friends in the music department would ideally spend 4-6 hours at the piano or with their violins.  I get bored after 15 minutes, about when I am actually warmed up.  As I learned more as a composer, I realized music theory is no substitute for playing an instrument.  The theory is fascinating, but music is ultimately about performance. It is only when played by a musician, in real time, the countless notes I have written come alive.

Furthermore the validity of academic study of music theory is ultimately derived from the performance of music, both those creating music (musician) and those receiving music (audience/other musicians).  Music theory is proved when the average person can pick up an instrument and over time discover everything taught in the classroom.  Music is art, meaning it should express thoughts, ideas, and emotions which are understood by people, and music is subjective.  With these two qualities come certain risks for educational institutions focused on this subject.  If academia makes statements and preferences about music and music theory which the common person cannot understand or agree with, then the institution has lost its ability to properly engage with people and culture.

Jesus is a musician.  What I mean is Jesus did not come to teach us a new philosophy or to theorize about God’s Kingdom.  Instead Jesus came to Earth, embodied God's Kingdom, and lived a sinless life for us.  Now He welcomes us to join His orchestra and participate.

We have to be careful not to become only Jesus theorists.  It can be easy to convince ourselves because we know the proper theology, ecclesiology, or missiology this somehow qualifies as faith.  The problem is Jesus is not some theory and God's Kingdom is not mere ideas or ideals.  Following His example I have to actually live out my faith.  I enjoy studying theology and see great fruit from it, but only as I am able to apply it in my life.  Faith is not knowledge; a living faith requires action and an embodiment of God's Kingdom.  As scripture describes it, "faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead" (James 2:17).

As individuals we need to be careful not to settle for theory alone, and we as the Church need to guard against this as well.  Just as academia can lose its purpose by isolating itself from people, the Church too can become the haunt of theorists and those already members of the Church.  It is not enough to love the poor in theory.  Instead we need to focus upon engaging with people; reaching out, expressing our faith, and loving the others whom Jesus deeply loves.  We have been called to join God’s ministry of reconciliation, and our mission is to do just this.

If my writing, if our reading, praying, and listening to sermons only increases our Jesus theory and not our embodiment of God's Kingdom, we are wasting our time.

So let us go practice living like Jesus in His Kingdom here on Earth.  I don't know about you, but I feel I am just getting warmed up