Wisdom, part two

I can't resist sharing this story after my last post.

Last Sunday during the children's sermon I talked with the children about being a disciple and following Jesus. The previous week, we had discussed Jesus calling Philip, who ran to get his friend Nathanael so that Nathanael could also follow Jesus. This week, Jesus calls Simon and Andrew to follow him, and they drop their fishing nets (they were fishermen) and follow Jesus. Then Jesus sees two more fishermen, James and John, and calls them to follow. These two leave their dad behind with the boat and follow Jesus.

There were three children at the early service as we talked about these things, and one of them called my discussion to a close with a typically profound, child-like statement: "Well, it's easy. We are just supposed to follow Jesus." I didn't have much to say after that.

Could it really be that simple? When Jesus calls, we answer? We follow? We leave behind the things that we are in the middle of and turn our attention toward Jesus?

I think it could be that simple. BUT, I think that most of us are too tied to our things and our lives done our way to let it be that simple. And most of us care too much about what the neighbors would say and what the world would think to respond so simply.

When was the last time that Jesus called you and you dropped everything to follow him?

When was the last time that Jesus called you and you had a really good excuse to stay where you are?

Wise as children

I had a moment this week when I realized that children are possibly and probably the wisest among us.

I was getting an oil change, waiting in the tiny room with the television and several other people. My attention was drawn away from my book to a CNN story on white phosphorus in Gaza. I have been following the recent news about Gaza in horror for the last few days, so the story immediately drew my attention. They were talking about the possibility that Israel is firing white phosphorus into Gaza and the ethical and legal ramifications of this. There was video footage of doctors talking about the severe burns and injuries that they are seeing in this heavily civilian area, and they showed a photo of one man in particular whose face was burned.

There was a child with his father in the waiting room. I would guess that the child is six. He saw the video of the man and he asked his father, "Daddy, what happened to that man's face?" The father looked uncomfortable and said, "He got burned." The child persisted and asked his father, "Why?" The father looked even more uncomfortable, mumbled something, and promptly took the child out of the room.

I was touched by this exchange and the genuine concern of the child. For children, life is not complicated. I don't like him because he smells funny. I don't like her because she won't share her toys with me. Children are brutally honest about what they think but they speak out of love and concern. Why do you have those dark marks under your eyes? Children don't understand when adults act in contrast to the way they proclaim children should act. If I'm not allowed to hit, why are they allowed to shoot?

I wonder if the simplicity of love is one of the reasons why Jesus said that we must be like children to enter the kingdom. I know that children had no status in his cultural context, that they were truly "the least of these" with no rights and no voice. But children also understand that love is basic, concrete, and actually very simple. You either love someone or you don't. Children truly sense the horror of the terrible acts of violence that humans inflict on one another. We should all be horrified. We should be confused. We should be asking questions. We should be as wise as children.

Happy Advent!

It is that time of year. It's the time of year when everyone is supposed to be happy and jolly, when you are supposed to wear lots of red sweaters and jingle bells, and when you are supposed to set your radio to the all-day "Christmas" music channel. In reality, "Christmas" music has been playing in stores and restaurants for weeks now. After a lunch in a local restaurant where I had to listen to "Here Comes Santa Claus" two weeks before Thanksgiving, I decided that perhaps I should not go out to eat until after Thanksgiving.

The irony of this season is so thick, I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

This last Sunday, we began the holy season of ADVENT. Yes, that's right. It is not Christmas, it is Advent. Advent is a word that from the Latin adventus, which means "coming." The season of Advent spans the four weeks leading up to Christ's birth on Christmas day. During these weeks, we proclaim the comings of Christ, how he came to this world born to a poor family, how he comes continually in our midst through the Holy Spirit, and how he will come again one day. We spend these four weeks preparing, not for a big man in a red suit, but for Jesus, who is Emmanuel, God with us. Believe me, that is MUCH better news!!!

So, Happy Advent! If you want to spread some good news, go around and greet people with these words. Happy Advent! Jesus is coming! God is with us! People might look at you funny. People might tell you that you are taking Christ out of Christmas. If that happens, take a deep breath, say a prayer, smile, and share the good news of the advent of Jesus. I would love to hear your stories about what happens as you share!

Don't worry...Christmas will come in a few weeks! There will be a time to sing carols and celebrate Christmas. But for now, pray, reflect, meditate, and enjoy the anticipation of God's mighty acts in our midst!

Blogging...connection or distance?

We have just recently entered into the blogging world here at Calvary UMC; it has been made particularly popular this summer on our mission trips, first the youth in Alabama/New Orleans and then the Brazil team in Fortaleza, Brazil. Everyone loved being able to follow the team, hear the stories from different people, and see photos while the experience was still going on, not just at the end, when you have to sit through a slideshow with 300 photos at once.

I still have not gotten into the blogging fever in daily life. I can see why people would want to read this while I'm far enough away that you can't get me on my cell phone, but it seems at least a little presumptous to think that I might have something to say or write that people would bother to read (or dare I say it, even WANT to read) daily or weekly.

My generation is all about self expression. We are about connecting with other people any way that we can, and nowadays, we often do that electronically. We could have the debate about whether this is good enough. Are we too distant and cold? Does the use of email and telephone take away the personal touch that a visit used to have? Are younger generations unable to have face to face relationships because they are accustomed to the safety of solitude in front of a computer screen? Perhaps. Or maybe it is just different. We are connected now in ways we never could be before. I can find and touch base with people from a million different worlds of my life, from my childhood in Missouri, from my high school years in Richmond, from our recent trip to Brazil...all of these "friends" can be on my facebook page, and could respond to my blog, most likely if I make them laugh, cry, reminisce, or feel angry.

We long to be connected. We long to belong. We long to express the stuff that is happening inside of us. And yet, we are often afraid to do all of these things, because we might get hurt in the process. We could be abandoned. We could be ridiculed. My generation longs for intimacy while at the same time, being absolutely terrified to jump in that deep and be that vulnerable.

And so, technology offers us the opportunity to connect, to share these deep thoughts and questions, albeit in a more impersonal outlet. At least it is an outlet. It is a release. It is a beginning to the conversation.