on the walk

My friend and former preacher Jim Street has had a couple of fantastic posts lately.  (In fact everything he writes is pretty stunning.)  He has been considering how easily and quickly we are ready to depend on anything other than God.  Even when we know better, it often seems that God is the last one that I think to rely upon.  I am more likely to try to rely upon myself or my friends or crooked schemes or hard work or anything other that God.

If you understand that dilemma, you will want to read Jim’s posts on Feigning Piety and Sidling Up to Satan.

on the walk

-Ethan

It wasn’t the main point of the sermon but it captured my thinking.  Aaron Wymer (Senior Minister at Grandview Christian Church, Johnson City TN) was introducing a fine sermon on the wisemen.  He said that the difference between a magician and a worshiper of God is that the magician will not say, “Thy will be done.”

The basic principle behind ancient magic is that through the manipulation of certain words or objects,  the gods could be controlled.  Power rested in the hands of the magician, and the goal of magic was to control the forces of the divine as well as the forces of nature.

In contrast, the worshiper makes requests, but does not presume power or the ability to control.

This reflection on magic, made me think about my prayer life.  I am tempted (and I know from my conversations with others that I am not alone) to  pray like a magician.  I am tempted to think of prayer as some sort of incantation whereby my will and agenda can be promoted.  This is not the kind of prayer that God desires.

Just as a parent wants to know about their child’s needs and desires, but does not want to be blackmailed or manipulated or cajoled, God insists that we not think of prayer as some sort of simple exchange.  (In fact anyone who does think of prayer in this way will be quickly disappointed.)

Nevertheless I still find myself approaching God with frustration, thinking to myself or even saying to God, “I prayed three times, why haven’t you done anything.”  When I do this, of course, I know that I am praying like a magician.

These are not the prayers that God desires.

on the walk

-Ethan

I am recovering from a long blogging hiatus. My apologies to my faithful readers. Offline life has been delightfully busy lately and has consequently left little time for blogging. The end of the year has particular demands that always coincide with the demands of shopping and travel preparations. Right now, my family is traveling in Tennessee for Christmas which is always a wonderful time of relaxation with family and friends, and it this year included the opportunity to worship at Grandview Christian Church in Johnson City. Betsy and I served on staff their for almost ten years and it was good to catch-up with old friends.

Our time with family was so fulfilling.  I know that time with family can be stressful, and our celebrations this year had some stress, but I know that I am blessed because, without fail, being with my family inspires and encourages me. I think better, and have time to think in different ways.  I can juggle and throw a ball with my brother, I tell stories with my cousins and catch up on life with my parents.

I expect that more many weeks to come my writing will be informed by my reflections as I spent time in Tennessee.

I hope that your time over this holiday has been equally enriching.

on the walk

-Ethan

I can’t add to it, I can only ask you to read it.

John Stackhouse asks, “What do you want for Christmas?”

on the walk

-Ethan

My dear friend James Street offers some good advice about how to listen to Christmas carols.  One thing I like about him is his ability to find the positive spin on even the sappiest of Christmas carols.  If you love Christmas music, and even more so if you hate Christmas music, you will want to check out Jim’s advice about how to listen to Christmas music.

on the walk

-Ethan

As I continue to reflect on this past week’s sermon on forgiveness, I find myself struck again by the primacy of forgiveness with respect to repentance. This is of course the opposite of how we normally expect forgiveness to work.

In our normal thoughts about forgiveness, we expect that after someone offers sufficient apology, we might then offer the release of forgiveness. But in God’s kingdom of grace, the offer of forgiveness precedes rather than follows repentance.

However much this may seem counter intuitive, there are at least two reasons why this is the only way it makes sense. Continue Reading »

In our services in preparation for Christmas, we are examining the manifold gifts that are ours in Christ. This week we encountered forgiveness. However I was delightful surprised by the way we encountered forgiveness.

We did not focus on the forgiveness that comes to us in Christ.  At the end of the sermon, strong mention of the forgiveness offered by God through Christ was made, but this was not the main focus.  The main focus was the through Christ was are able to forgive others.  Having heard the sermon this no longer seems surprising to me, but as I reflect on it, I recognize that it is not immediately obvious that forgiving others is a gift to me.

Perhaps vengeance would be a better gift.  Perhaps reclaiming what was taken would be a better response those who have wronged me.  Wouldn’t the perfect gift be the opportunity to extract perfect recompense to all those who owe me.

But this is not what Christ offers.  Instead Christ offers forgiveness for the wrong we have done, and commands that we forgive those who have done wrong to us.

It was this first point of the sermon that struck me as the most powerful.  Vengeance for a wrong done to me, is no gift to me.  Forgiving that wrong is, in a surprising way, a gift of great worth.

I hope to write more on this.  If you question this conclusion, I would encourage you to follow the link above and listen to the sermon.  It might just be the perfect gift.

on the walk

-Ethan

[Warning: This post contains some spoilers about Santa.  You may not want to read with your children in the room]

Santa visited the Winter Craft Festival at my boys school this Saturday.  It was my favorite kind of Santa: real beard and hair, overalls and read flannel.  It was the kind of Santa that knows when a formal red suit is out of place.  He came in and said a few ho ho ho’s and then sat down to talk to the kids.

My son Evan, knows that Santa is fiction. Continue Reading »

I was in a conversation recently where many of us were bemoaning that we just weren’t in the “Christmas spirit.” I often find myself feeling this way at Christmas. I have no good excuses. I can’t use the “it’s just so busy” excuse, because December usually isn’t a particularly busy month for me. I can’t use the “everything is so commercialized” excuse, because I have no trouble getting into the spirit of summer vacation even in Ocean City where everything is commercialized.

For me there is one reason, I have not taken the time to live out compassion for others. The whole Christmas story is this, out of compassion for us, the son of God took on flesh and came to earth for my sake. The “spirit of Christmas” is not some vague disembodied warm happy feeling of goodwill to all. It is precisely an embodied spirit. It is an enfleshed spirit of compassion for others. A vague happy sense of brotherly love may be popular this time of year, but it is not the spirit of Christmas.

My friend Alex Lozada wrote this on his blog tonight. The Post was titled “Bell-Ringing for the Salvation Army.”

My first day was the coldest, but every time my fingers started to ache, I thought “I’m going back to a warm house, but there are homeless people who would die tonight if it weren’t for the Salvation Army’s shelters.”

A van from a elderly assisted living home dropped off residents for their Christmas shopping. They gave their dollar or coins. I thought about the widow’s coins from Luke 21.

I think Alex has the Christmas spirit.  It isn’t fancy.  It is just (extra)ordinary, compassion that is lived out in concrete ways.

on the walk

-Ethan

As I am thinking about Advent, my good friend Jim Street reminds me that it’s about time. Holidays are among those events that shape the rhythm of our lives. But there are plenty of others that compete.

As you consider your participation in the Christmas year, think about how your time is shaped. Is it by the school year or the seasons? Is it by sports or fashion? Take a moment and consider how time shapes you life as you read Jim’s helpful thoughts on Advent.

on the walk

-Ethan