It’s the second week of December and we’ve officially started the Christmas rush, full of shopping lists, too many bills, no parking, busy schedules, etc. As wonderful as Christmas is, is it possible that we’ve made it more or less than what it really is?
As we lead up to Christmas, we’ll be looking at what the Advent season takes us back to, a season of expectancy. The Christmas story, found in the gospels, is the beginning of Jesus life on earth, but also the end of a long period of waiting. People in that story were waiting for a Messiah, for forgiveness of sins, for a nations coming of age. Advent is a journey through those same feelings of expectancy; the waiting for a much anticipated Saviour.
If we can take a moment, before the rush, to maybe look at the false expectations we’ve created or built into this season.
Seinfeld’s video may not be seasonal or about Christmas, but it sure does speak to the false expectations we place on ourselves at Christmas.
Christmas seems to always have two stories vying for position; the question is which one will make it to the top. I don’t just mean Santa vs Jesus in a battle royal. As fun as that sounds, it’s a little more that that. The biblical Christmas story is based in a context that was bound for opposition. King Herod was appointed by Rome to rule Jerusalem. He was a cruel and evil leader. When he got wind of Jesus and began to do the math, he realized that this Jesus, even though just a baby, was not good for business. So much so that he ordered all first born boys in Bethlehem to be killed. Jesus avoided this by being brought to Egypt before this incident. The opposition starts in Matthew 2:1-3. This is the cultural context that Jesus was born into. We may view Jesus as the main story line, but Herod had other plans in mind. Herod was about violence, perverse power, cruelty, control, etc. Jesus was going to be about mercy, justice, love, peace, and a power that would be connected to humility.
This begs the question, what stories compete with Christmas today? What story will win at the end of the day? These days…
Christmas competes with consumerism
Christmas competes with materialism
Christmas competes with a hurried life style
Christmas competes with budgeting
Christmas competes with selfishness
For all the wonderful expectations of Advent and Christmas, there are a few false ones:
– that we must spend more than we have
– that we should get more than we give
– that we must be totally spent by January 1
When it comes to the practical side of advent, let’s be careful of a couple of things…
1) Be careful not to SPEND MONEY you don’t have (or money that can be used better)!
The most used practice in December is that of consumption. Our exaggerated employment numbers in December and then high unemployment numbers in January are just one example. The average Canadian spends more than $1400 at Christmas. That’s not as alarming as the fact that 1/3 of Canadians go into debt for their purchases.
We haven’t figured out how to continue to be generous, without damaging our lives in the process. What’s worse is that we feed into this idea that Christmas has to be overboard. Of course this is a fine line. We want to be generous and give to those we love. But there has to be a way to balance it off and not find oneself in debt because of it. Perhaps we can start by letting people know that they don’t have to buy us anything. That we are truly content with what we have. That a modest and thoughtful gift is just enough.
Miroslav Volf recently said (in regards to the craze Black Friday), “how is it possible that all those who were grateful for what they have on Thursday, go out the next day and get so much more on Friday?”
Perhaps the best advice to not desire the false expectations of the season may come from Ann Voscamp who says,
“I don’t have to buy Christmas, I want Christmas to whisper Jesus”
“I don’t want to produce Christmas, I want to receive Christmas”
2) Be careful not to miss OPPORTUNITIES to be PRESENT in people’s lives!
Matthew 1:23 tells us that Jesus was given the name Emmanuel. This name is very important as it means, ‘God with us’. Whatever you think about Santa Clause (and remember the real St. Nicolaus was an amazing person and believer who helped many people), the one we hear about around this time of year is a drive by gift giver. Think about it, Santa drops in for a few minutes, doesn’t say hi, eats your cookies and takes off. Jesus – he came, moved in, went to school, got a job, sat down and ate dinner with friends and sinners alike. Jesus is the clearest picture of God (he is God) and shows us that God is not far away, but close. Matthew’s gospel reveals that this God is not only our Saviour, but he is with us.
In light of that story, how can we not give the most generous and authentic gifts to others – our presence. Being present in people’s lives is an extension of Jesus. Not only that, but it shows our world that we don’t buy into commercialized Christmas, but rather, we’re into the real essence of the story – Jesus being present with us, and us being present with others.
2 Stories…
What story will you attach yourself to this season. Herod’s story of selfishness and pride or Jesus’ story of mercy, peace, hope, joy and love? Will you let the false expectations of the season pull you in? Or will you be even more generous, but in a thoughtful and meaningful way, giving from what you have and what you’ve said aside.
If the Christmas story is about Jesus, then my only expectations should be what I’ve come to expect of him: forgiveness of sins, undeserved grace, peace beyond understanding, and boundless love. Out of that, I have lots to give. Share that story this Christmas!
Comeback stories are good. We like them because we’ve followed a great athlete or an artist, and after they (may) have fallen off the map a little, for injury or personal reasons, we cheer them on as they make a comeback. Turnaround stories are even better. Why? Because they’re not coming back from anywhere, instead, the people in the middle of the story have gone from one place to another – they’ve changed direction, they’ve turned things around. Most times we can identify what the significant turning points were: people, circumstance, opportunity, etc.
Paul the apostle has one of the best turnaround stories in the scriptures. So much so, Luke includes in three times in Acts. You can read it first in chapter 9, again in 22 and finally in 26. Why three times? Well, first, Luke wants us to know it, and second, I think he wants us to know that we can develop our own story of repentance and life change.
In Acts 22, Paul is in the middle of a few years of trials, persecution, flogging, and lots of back and forth in different courts. In this particular instance, he is mistaken for an Egyptian revolutionary who had a part in assassinating thousands of people. Paul was no assassin, at least not after his conversion. After speaking in Greek, they realized they had the wrong person. But that didn’t subside the angry mob of religious Jews. Paul had to switch to Hebrew (Aramaic) to really get their attention. Once he had their ears, he took the opportunity to share ‘his’ story. This was one of the reasons he came back to Jerusalem – to let ‘his’ people know that he was wrong about his previous thoughts about God and Jesus, and that there had been a drastic turnaround in his story.
What happened to Paul? He hit a wall. That wall was Jesus. In the height of his passionate disdain for people of the Way (early Christians), he encountered Jesus. Jesus told Paul that he wasn’t just persecuting christians, he was persecuting him. Meeting Jesus in this manner got Paul’s attention and gripped his heart. He was never the same. He took his passionate personality and used it for good instead of evil. Paul moved from hate to love, religion to relationship, persecutor to preacher, etc.
There’s a verse in 1 Peter 2:9 that depicts this change in Paul, it can depict this change in any of us, “I’ve been called out of darkness, and into a marvellous light.” The light of Jesus opened Paul’s eyes; he could finally see that he totally missed the point about what it means to follow God. Jesus made God clear to him, by clear we mean that encountering Jesus showed Paul that God’s love was bigger than a nation, it was for the hole world. That’s right, God wanted his story to include everyone – us!
In the midst of trouble, flogging, trials, and persecution, Paul shared ‘his’ turnaround story.
What’s your story? Are you at the beginning (figuring Jesus out), the middle (discovering how to follow Jesus), or are you now able to look back and identify the things and people God’s used to point you towards himself. Have you thought about sharing your story, to help people get ‘unstuck’ from their past (darkness), and lead them to freedom in Jesus (light).
Looking
at your life today, what did God do, or who did he use, to get you here?
What
is God doing now, so you can become who you need to be tomorrow?
Will
you share your story of God intersecting your life, of God turning you around,
of Jesus stopping you in your tracks, so that you can live in a different
direction?
– If you remember or have read Paul’s conversion story (Acts 9, 22, 26), what is most intriguing? What questions come up for you?
– Paul was a pretty tough guy. He ordered the death of early Jesus followers, and then watched the persecution happen. How does someone like that change?
– What about you? You may have not killed anyone (or maybe you have), but what has changed in you or what do you think needs some serious renovations? Can God do it? What will he need to use?
(BTW, Jesus said if you hate or show anger, your judgement should be the same, just sayin’ – Matthew 5:21-22)
– Revisit the final questions from the post above (in bold)?
Can you think of a time that you had to say good bye? Not a ‘see you tomorrow’, but a ‘goodbye for a long time, possibly forever’ kind of goodbye. We don’t understand what those are in our era. I don’t want to underestimate the parting of ways, but with phones, internet, texting, facetime, skype, etc, our goodbyes don’t last too long. We say goodbye one minute and are texting our friend the next; liking a post on facebook, favouring or replying to a tweet. Our goodbyes don’t have the same finality as they once did.
If you’ve ever worked with a group of people, leading and encouraging them for an extended period of time, you may know what it feels like to eventually say goodbye. I’ve had the opportunity to say farewell a few times in my life, and it wasn’t easy to settle on which words to share. It’s both tough and beautiful. Tough because you don’t want to leave a group you care about – Beautiful because your relationship to that point has given you an opportunity to share deep and challenging things on your farewell.
In Acts 20 Paul is sharing some farewell thoughts to a community that is dear to his heart. His longest pastoral stint was in Ephesus. It’s to these early Jesus followers that he shares his heart. He asked the Elders of the community to come meet him where he is. It would take three days to get a message from where he was to Ephesus, then add a few days for the Elders to get back. How important was this farewell meeting to make people go through this much trouble? Well, Paul was on his way to Jerusalem. He knew that they would never see each other again. He would be leaving the church in Ephesus totally in their hands…and God’s of course.
This particular speech was the only recorded one in Acts directed solely to Christians. Other speeches/sermons were for pagans, potential converts, hostile religious leaders, but this one is for a church Paul cared for and loves deeply. In it, Paul includes a few things about him and some advice for them.
In this speech…
….we find out…Paul’s devotion to the gospel, the Spirit and the church…
Paul reminds them about how he lived and what he taught. They go hand in hand. He shared all he could about Jesus, with humility, in public and in homes. Paul lets them know that following him would lead them to following Jesus (cf. 1 Cor 11:1, Phil 4:9). He then uses this word that lets us into how committed he was to the mission of Christ. “I am compelled to go from city to city…even though I may will trouble there.” The word compelled, is also written as captivated (in other translations) and can be translated as imprisoned. Paul felt like he could do nothing else but serve Jesus in this way.
Have you ever felt this? Either for a season or a moment? That you could do nothing else than what God was calling you to do? Did you listen? Did you follow your captivated heart? I hope so. It’s not easy…to give a moment, a day, a week, a season, or your life, but when your compelled, you just don’t feel like you can do anything else. Paul wanted to remind them this as he prepares to leave.
He then turns from his life with them to their new reality without him.
…we’re given…next steps in moving the church forward…
Paul is concerned, like any fatherly leader would be, about his family. He wants them to succeed in his absence. And of course he would, because he is a good leader. Good leaders want those who follow them to succeed after they leave. It’s the selfish leaders who don’t care how things turn out when they’re not leading any longer.
Paul tells them to:
– Keep Watch (for obstacles heading their way)
– Be Shepherds (lead and nurture as Paul once did)
– Be Alert (for evil and disruption to their forming Jesus community)
The most important bit of advice may be in verse 32, “Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance…”. It’s like he’s saying, ‘The story you’ve received, the gospel you’ve been taught, the word of grace you’ve welcomed…it will build you up and give you a future.’
Paul felt that these things would enable them to move the church forward and continue the work of Jesus in their present and future days.
This leads us to the inevitable: Paul is leaving. They accompany him to the ship. They cry, they hug, they grieve, because they will not see each other again. We can’t appreciate what this means for them. We don’t have the same finality in our departures these days. This was a final goodbye. Yes, they had a hope of heaven, but who would teach and continue to nurture these young christians in their faith? There was a deep community that grew in this church. They loved and appreciated each other. This farewell meant something to both Paul and the Ephesian Christians. Paul got to remind them about all they had learned about Jesus. They received valuable instruction to continue what God started in them. What do we learn? Hear are a few questions that might help us figure that out.
* Will
we allow God’s spirit to so captivate us that we find ourselves consumed in
doing God’s good work in the world?
* Will
we appreciate God’s story in such a way that we ‘stay awake’ and keep others
‘alert’ to it?
* How
much of a community experience are we willing to have? Hopefully enough of one
that will bring grief our way if we find ourselves saying goodbye one day –
That’s when you know it’s good!
* If
you had one last chance to talk to someone you cared about, what would you say?
How would you end things? Would you pray for their future? Would you give them
a word of grace that builds?
I think in all of us there is some kind of desire, small or larger, to make the world better. However, when things take longer, when budgets are blown, when it gets harder than we originally thought, many people pack it in. We like the idea of doing the extraordinary, but it’s never as easy as it looks in the movies…or in the Bible for that matter.
The story of Noah is epic. Many who don’t know or have read the bible have still heard of it. It seems like every few years a movie is made about it. We talked about the most recent film on this blog last week. In 2007, Steve Carell and Morgan Freeman stared in a Noah (inspired) movie: Evan Almighty was a comedic take on the story. Of course it wasn’t interpreted well and missed much of the true meaning, but it was hilarious.
We’d have to spend a few weeks (posts) on this story to really do it justice. There is a lot we can talk about: history, science, judgement, etc. For today’s purpose, let’s focus on this one idea: Noah was asked to follow and execute God’s plan to restart the world. God pressed the reset button with humanity and Noah was the project manager. Simply saying yes to that had to be a daunting decision. Because we don’t see this dialogue between Noah and God in the Genesis story may be the reason why so many story tellers take liberty to read between the lines. You can here/see some of those here (bill cosby) and here (evan almighty).
One thing we know for sure, God asked Noah to help him make the world better, and Noah said yes. What should we expect when we say yes to God? When God invites us to dream up a better world with him, are there a few things we can learn from Noah’s story? Glad you asked. Here they are.
When you except God’s invitation to work along side him you should expect…
to Stick Out
Any one who’s done anything adventurous has always risked putting their reputation on the line. If you wanna change your world, expect to look a little silly at times. People won’t understand what you’re trying to do. It’s the nature of the job. We can imagine that Noah’s experience was the same. What were people thinking of him? And he didn’t have to live with this for a week or a month? No, it took months and months for this Ark to be built. By simply taking on this task, Noah was going to stick out. But that’s not the only reason ‘one of these things did not belong’ (excuse the sesame street quote). Noah lived a different life than his other contemporaries. Genesis 6:8,9 and 7:1 say that Noah found favour in God’s eyes…and he walked faithfully with God.
Embrace your life in God. Walk this life in full confidence. Follow God with all your heart. He’s worth sticking out for.
to Work Hard
Anytime you want to make your world better, it’s going to take a lot of hard work. We may not want to hear this, but people who are committed to God’s goodness and mission are the ones ‘stuck’ doing all the work. Think about the statement, “So make yourself an ark” (Genesis 6:14) Hello! That isn’t a small statement. It’s not like God said, go and pick up the garbage at the local park or bring a meal to your neighbour or donate some money to your local children’s shelter – he said, ‘go and make an ark’.
We’re just given dates and some timetables, but we can only imagine the work, stress, pressure, and and energy it took to get this done. Whenever God calls us to do something significant, it’s going to take some work. You up for it?
to be REMEMBERed by God
This story is bookended by covenant. Covenant is a partnership God initiates with people. In the first 12 chapters of Genesis He made a covenant with Adam, with Noah, and with Abraham. For Noah, this point of reference allows him to look back and trust that God is with him – that he won’t forget him. Genesis 8:1 has some of the most beautiful words in the Scripture, “God remembered Noah”. It’s like God was saying, ‘remember that covenant we made? I was serious about it. I won’t forget you.’ Covenant reminds us that we are not in this alone – God is the one who initiates. Changing the world is his idea. In Noah’s case, setting the reset button was God’s idea, and He was always going to see it (them) through. He will do the same for us.
that God is looking for HEART (and faith, trust & obedience)
Noah didn’t apply for this job. God didn’t look at 5 other carpenters before he picked Noah for the gig. God had Noah in mind for one reason only: Noah walked faithfully with God (Genesis 6:9). God looks for character before competency. He looks for heart more than he looks for skills.
If you think this story was literal or not it doesn’t take away from what we can learn from it.
What’s God dreaming up with you?
Are you willing to walk with him to see it done?
Will you set aside your insecurities, if you think you lack skill, and simply follow?
Will you look back on his promises (covenant) for encouragement?
Can you say, ‘God, your will, not mine, be done’?
Anything about the word ‘covenant’ that you’d like to address?
What else about the Noah story intrigues, excites, or even concerns you?
Anything about the movie you’d like to bring up?
What’s one thing God is (or may) asking you to do that might be, well, a little different, tough, unexpected? What are you doing or will you do something about it?
I know, I know, what kind of crazy question is this? This year’s release of Noah is obviously based on, rather, inspired by, the biblical story of Noah. Why ask a silly question like the one you read in the title of this post?
Well, this movie got lots of criticism – from both sides. The religious folks criticized it for not being true to the biblical text found in Genesis, and some of the movie buffs said it was not the director’s (Darren Aronofsky) best stuff. If that’s the case, why are we even talking about this movie? Now not all reviews were bad. Some people, myself included, actually liked the movie. Truth be told, I may have enjoyed Evan Almighty (also inspired by the Genesis story of Noah) more than this version of Noah, but I did get lots out of this movie.
Back to my original question. When I watch movies, any kinds of movies, I look for redemptive themes of hope, grace, love, truth, etc. I enjoy discovering scenes in a film that point us to something bigger and better. We all know that life can be a drag and that, if we keep our heads down, we can caught in a rut pretty fast. Any kind of hint that there is something bigger than me, someone bigger than me, that cares, that loves, that makes me a better version of me, is a welcomed idea. Personally, I am convinced the ‘something bigger’ is God, revealed to us in Jesus. (just thought I’d lay my cards on the table up front)
In Noah, the movie, if they got it wrong or right, there are moments in this film that point us to God. Not just any god, but the God who created of the heavens and the earth. Here are some scenes/quotes for you to think about…
“When I see you, I see the man I once knew, the man I came to help”
This is a Rock person (a watcher) speaking to Noah. Even though these characters are fictional at best, something in this scene is beautiful. The biblical account tells us that Noah found favour in the eyes of the Lord. The Rock people see something in Noah they haven’t seen since Adam – God. Noah’s life reflected the Creator. Noah’s way of living pointed people to God. What’s beautiful in this scene is how a person can remind us or point us towards a God that we all long for. I hope that when people see me they see a reflection of Jesus. How about you?
“Noah, you must trust that he speaks to you in a way that you understand”
This line is from Noah’s grandfather, Methuselah. This is a funny relationship, mainly because Anthony Hopkins plays an interesting character who is obsessed with berries. However, what comes out well is a man’s struggle to understand the voice of God in their life. The biblical account simply says that Noah listened and obeyed. The only crack in the armour might come when Noah gets drunk (and naked), in what seems to be a very strange way to end this biblical account. Many people, if not all people, are intrigued with what it means to communicate with God; to be able to hear his voice; to understand what he is saying and how he calls us to live. This scene encourages one to develop that relationship. I want to be able to hear God’s voice, even if at times it’s a struggle, it’s a struggle worth having.
“My father says there can be no king, the Creator is the King”
This line comes from Ham as a response to Tabul-Cain. Tabul-Cain is the ‘bad guy’ in this movie; a descendant of Cain (Remember him? Adam’s son who killed his brother Abel and was thrown out of the garden?). Tabul-Cain’s world view is evil: he runs the show and God is long gone from here and therefore has no control over him or anybody. When Ham shows no knowledge of who he is, Tabul-Cain says, don’t you know who your king is (referring to himself)? Ham’s understanding of kingship is simple, God is the King. We see this theme in the Old Testament a lot. Israel wants to be like other nations, who have a human king and God is always trying to remind them that he is their king and any human form of kingship will come short. Noah had this right – God is one who leads and the one who Noah follows. Any other form of leadership will always come second to God.
“The wickedness is not just in them – it’s in us”
This may be my favourite part of the movie. Only because Noah shows humility by realizing that humanity (himself included) is broken, and therefore needs God to fix them. It’s so easy to look to others and call out their faults and sins. We often make ourselves feel better by pointing out the wrongs in others. However, Jesus said, don’t point out the spec in your brother’s eye when you have a tree trunk in yours. Noah may take this much too far in the movie (watch it for yourself to understand), but there is a deep truth here – If we don’t accept our brokenness and see it for what it is, we will never fully invite God to fix us and make us whole. He’s the only one who can.
“If you’re a man, you can kill” “We are men, we decide whether we live or die”
These two lines from Tabul-Cain really set up a humanist kind of worldview. If we understand the world to be absent of God, then we actually think that we are in control of our own destiny. I’m not making a case against free will. One of the most beautiful thing’s God give us is ‘choice’. He doesn’t force us to do anything. However, when we place on our selves, the responsibility of someone else’s life or the ‘full’ control of ours for that matter, we are in over our head. When was the last time any human planned their birth or death day? Except for cases of suicide, which are very unfortunate, never. And what kind of mixed up society thinks that killing another human is a sign of maturity? That said, we watch the news and our current events expose many people like this – but I would say, and I hope you would to, that those people are living out an evilness that is opposite of the ways of Jesus. Real men and women are people of peace, not violence. Real men and women are humbled by the idea of being given an opportunity to live, and making the most of that opportunity until the day they die. Quickly read the beatitudes (Matthew 5) and you’ll see what living really is.
As you can see, this wasn’t a review or a critique. I’ll leave that for the experts. Here’s how we’ll close this out – Noah wasn’t a hit with some evangelicals. Noah made some religious people unhappy. You may have watched it and thought, really, they could’ve done better. However, like we should do everyday that we find ourselves immersed in our culture, look for things that point us upward – that inch us closer to God – that might nudge people in the direction of a God who loves them and wants them close to him. I look for that in as many places as I can find it. My God really is in more places than I think he is, if I open my eyes to it – even in a movie that didn’t get it all right. If nothing else, use this movie as a great conversation starter. You can point out differences from the biblical text if you so choose (and there are many), however, what may be better, is to find the places that lead the conversation towards God. Always with gentleness & respect. For more on that read, Colossians 4.
