I love this time of the year. I love to feel the crisp cold that is becoming more and more common at night, I love how clear and bright the stars look, but above all, I love to watch the trees as they change color, and drop their leaves. I love it, but I suppose it is a pretty depressing time of year if you look at in a purely secular way. The nights are growing ever longer, the weather growing colder, the plants are dying, and even the animals are taking precautions to stave off starvation and cold.
But I look at the trees, and I think about Jesus. After all, he was, beyond anything else, a carpenter. He knew about wood, and so he knew about trees. I’m sure that, as a boy, Joseph taught him to look at trees and see beyond the bark, to all the promise that was contained in each one. He would see a table in this one, perhaps a chair in that one, a set of bowls in that Oak over there, perhaps a cross in that odd shaped one.
As a child I used to observe, like a young Jesus probably did, that in the winter, all the trees died. As I grew up, and learned more, I came to understand their secret - that they actually just go dormant. Despite appearances, they haven’t died and in the spring they will once again come to life and bring shade from the sun, shelter from the rain, homes for the birds, fruits for our bellies, and oxygen for our lungs.
The birth of that baby so long ago was in many ways like the planting of a tree in our midst. The baby who’s birth we will celebrate in a few weeks will, over time grow up and spread his branches. Then, like the tree, he will go away for a while, and appear to us to be dead, but he will not be. On Easter morning, he will spring to life again, and show us all that he never really left us at all. He was always there, and always will be there to shelter us, and spread himself over us, He will give us protection, and nurture us, and give us life. He brings us hope.
So have a safe and happy Advent and Christmas, and remember to take a walk some cold, dark evening. Breathe in the cold, let the darkness wrap around you like a blanket, and be sure to look at the trees, and smile at knowing the mysterious secret they share with our savior.
Peace to you all,
Friday, November 30, 2007
Monday, June 18, 2007
Letting Go
It’s going to sound odd to say, but as I reflect on Father’s day I have conflicting emotions about what it means to be a father.
On the one hand, it’s a job you will have for the rest of your life and is truly fulfilling, but on the other hand it’s a job who’s ultimate goal is to make yourself irrelevant. We raise our children by teaching them everything we know, only to one day realize that we know nothing compared to them.
It reminds me of an orthodox Jewish friend of mine who went to see his Rabbi. He tells him “I don’t know what to do with my son. He was born a good Jewish boy, he knew the torah, and could discuss deep thoughts with the rabbi, some people even thought he would become a rabbi. But then I sent him out into the world, next thing I know – he’s a Christian!”. The Rabbi responds, “You know…funny story…the EXACT same thing happened to me. My son, a nice Jewish boy, knew the torah inside and out, people thought he was maybe going to be a rabbi. Then, I send him out into the world – next thing you know he’s become a Christian!” As they ponder this, the heavens open up, there is a blinding light, and from within the light comes the voice of God, who says “You know…funny story…”
Our children are not our children…they belong to the future, and they belong to a heavenly father who claimed them long before even we ourselves were born. We celebrate fatherhood today, but often delude ourselves into thinking it has something to do with gender. It doesn’t. We all know women out there who by circumstance or design have been both mother and father to their children, and have done exceptional jobs. It’s not about the gender! If you think about it, it isn’t even about genetics…
It’s about claiming a child as your own, with all their faults and their talents, it’s about accepting them for who they are, and guiding them to become who they can be. As some of you know, I was rather ill back in April, and had to spend a few days home from work. It gave me a chance to see what was going on in daytime TV, and one of the shows that really captured my attention was Jerry Springer. Jerry was doing a series of shows about paternity…in the end, a baby either left without a daddy, and with a mommy who had just been humiliated in front of millions of people OR a baby found a daddy that didn’t want him or her. Either way, everyone looses. But in one segment, there was young man who said “Jerry, I don’t care what the paternity results say…that’s MY baby…”
I loved when that happened, because it reminds me of what God has done for each and every one of us …He claims this beautiful child, with all their talents and skills, and all their weaknesses and faults, and redeems them by his blood.
God is constantly making this offer to be in our lives, all the time, and all we have to do is say YES to this offer, and if we do, then we have a Father who will never miss a little league game, or a soccer game, then we have a father who will be at our graduations, our weddings, the births of our children, our retirement parties. Then we have a father who will be there holding us in his strong arms, and kissing our foreheads as we take our last breath.
But too often we find it hard to say yes. We’re like the man who, while out enjoying the beauty of God in nature slips, and as he’s about to fall over a cliff he grabs on to a protruding root. He can’t hold on very long, so he begins to yell for help. He hears a voice say “It is me, God. I’m here. You can let go of the root, and I will bear you up to safety on the wings of angels.”
The man ponders this a moment, and then says,” God…is there anyone ELSE up there with a rope?”
It’s our nature, we can’t let ourselves let go of that root, whatever that root is that prevents us from saying yes. We hang on to that root thinking that it will save us, but don’t realize that the root is not holding us up, it is holding us down. Some day, we WILL have to let go of that root and give ourselves over to God, and when we do, we will realize all the opportunities we missed out on by not saying yes earlier, and having Him in our lives sooner.
Peace to you all,
On the one hand, it’s a job you will have for the rest of your life and is truly fulfilling, but on the other hand it’s a job who’s ultimate goal is to make yourself irrelevant. We raise our children by teaching them everything we know, only to one day realize that we know nothing compared to them.
It reminds me of an orthodox Jewish friend of mine who went to see his Rabbi. He tells him “I don’t know what to do with my son. He was born a good Jewish boy, he knew the torah, and could discuss deep thoughts with the rabbi, some people even thought he would become a rabbi. But then I sent him out into the world, next thing I know – he’s a Christian!”. The Rabbi responds, “You know…funny story…the EXACT same thing happened to me. My son, a nice Jewish boy, knew the torah inside and out, people thought he was maybe going to be a rabbi. Then, I send him out into the world – next thing you know he’s become a Christian!” As they ponder this, the heavens open up, there is a blinding light, and from within the light comes the voice of God, who says “You know…funny story…”
Our children are not our children…they belong to the future, and they belong to a heavenly father who claimed them long before even we ourselves were born. We celebrate fatherhood today, but often delude ourselves into thinking it has something to do with gender. It doesn’t. We all know women out there who by circumstance or design have been both mother and father to their children, and have done exceptional jobs. It’s not about the gender! If you think about it, it isn’t even about genetics…
It’s about claiming a child as your own, with all their faults and their talents, it’s about accepting them for who they are, and guiding them to become who they can be. As some of you know, I was rather ill back in April, and had to spend a few days home from work. It gave me a chance to see what was going on in daytime TV, and one of the shows that really captured my attention was Jerry Springer. Jerry was doing a series of shows about paternity…in the end, a baby either left without a daddy, and with a mommy who had just been humiliated in front of millions of people OR a baby found a daddy that didn’t want him or her. Either way, everyone looses. But in one segment, there was young man who said “Jerry, I don’t care what the paternity results say…that’s MY baby…”
I loved when that happened, because it reminds me of what God has done for each and every one of us …He claims this beautiful child, with all their talents and skills, and all their weaknesses and faults, and redeems them by his blood.
God is constantly making this offer to be in our lives, all the time, and all we have to do is say YES to this offer, and if we do, then we have a Father who will never miss a little league game, or a soccer game, then we have a father who will be at our graduations, our weddings, the births of our children, our retirement parties. Then we have a father who will be there holding us in his strong arms, and kissing our foreheads as we take our last breath.
But too often we find it hard to say yes. We’re like the man who, while out enjoying the beauty of God in nature slips, and as he’s about to fall over a cliff he grabs on to a protruding root. He can’t hold on very long, so he begins to yell for help. He hears a voice say “It is me, God. I’m here. You can let go of the root, and I will bear you up to safety on the wings of angels.”
The man ponders this a moment, and then says,” God…is there anyone ELSE up there with a rope?”
It’s our nature, we can’t let ourselves let go of that root, whatever that root is that prevents us from saying yes. We hang on to that root thinking that it will save us, but don’t realize that the root is not holding us up, it is holding us down. Some day, we WILL have to let go of that root and give ourselves over to God, and when we do, we will realize all the opportunities we missed out on by not saying yes earlier, and having Him in our lives sooner.
Peace to you all,
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
