A simple resolution for the New Year

I recently left a conversation with someone who said she was resolving in the New Year to lose weight.  In the same breath she told me that this was the tenth New Year she’s made the resolution.  She’s made good on all of them, but somewhere in between each one she has grown, as she said it, “less resolved”. 

We all understand what “less resolved” is all about.  It comes about when we place our best intentions against all the other priorities of life.  Something has to give, and usually it’s the latest good idea. 

But would it look any different if instead of resolving to a thing, we resolved to a person? That is, if this New Year’s instead of making a resolution to do something, we resolved instead to follow someone.  To create a new loyalty.  To start a new conversation with someone whose words might redirect our lives into a new and healthy pattern?

Could we resolve to follow Jesus? 

To do so would put us on the path toward trusting him.  You won’t follow someone you don’t trust.  So what if we said tomorrow we are going to start trusting Jesus more?  Accepting that what he says might really be the better way to live. 

Think of the Beatitudes, Jesus opening words in the Sermon on the Mount:  Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.  Blessed are the meek … blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness … blessed are the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, the persecuted.  So many of these ways of life are counterintuitive.  We couldn’t imagine doing them on our own accord.  We need to trust someone that they are actually the right thing to do.

C.S. Lewis in his great essay On Obstinacy in Belief gets to the heart of this when he writes:

In Christianity such faith is demanded of us; but there are situations in which we demand it of others. There are times when we can do all that a fellow creature needs if only he will trust us. In getting a dog out of a trap, in extracting a thorn from a child’s finger, in teaching a boy to swim or rescuing one who can’t, in getting a frightened beginner over a nasty place on a mountain, the one fatal obstacle may be their distrust. We are asking them to trust us in the teeth of their senses, their imagination, and their intelligence. We ask them to believe that what is painful will relieve their pain and that what looks dangerous is their only safety. We ask them to accept apparent impossibilities: that moving the paw farther back into the trap is the way to get it out—that hurting the finger very much more will stop the finger hurting—that holding on to the only support within reach is not the way to avoid sinking—that to go higher and on to a more exposed ledge is the way not to fall. To support all these incredibilia we can rely only on the other party’s confidence in us—a confidence certainly not based on demonstration, admittedly shot through with emotion, and perhaps, if we are strangers, resting on nothing but such assurance as the look of our face and the tone of our voice can supply, or even, for the dog, on our smell.

While there may be a lot of Jesus we don’t understand, there is much more of Jesus that we want to trust.  Instinctively we know that his way is the way, his truth is the truth, his life is the life.  Yet some of the things he asks of us seem to go against what, in the short term, is against our interest.  The only thing left to do is trust.

So let’s make it simple this year.  Let our resolutions be not do anything, but to trust someone.  Trust him for how to live and find the blessedness he’s always had for us. 

Miracle and Mystery

I can’t seem to get through an Advent season without sneaking over to my set of Karl Barth’s Church Dogmatics and letting the great Reformed theologian assist me in reflecting upon the great thing God has done for us in Jesus Christ.  In all that our world does to siphon away any miracle and mystery this story has for us, Barth remains the voice of dialectical sanity: “The man Jesus of Nazareth is not the true Son of God because He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.  On the contrary, because He is the true Son of God and because this is an inconceivable mystery intended to be acknowledged as such, therefore He is conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.  And because He is thus conceived and born, He has to be recognized and acknowledged as the One He is and in the mystery in which He is the One He is.  The mystery does not rest upon the miracle.  The miracle rests upon the mystery.  The miracle bears witness to the mystery, and the mystery is attested by the miracle.”

Miracle and mystery. 

“Behold!” was what the angel said to the shepherds.  It’s King James’ language, and it says so much.  Behold the miracle and the mystery.  Don’t try to explain it.  Don’t try to simplify it.  Don’t try to reduce it to a pithy poem.  Just “behold”.  It is both miracle and mystery.  It requires no additional commentary. Just fall on your knees and behold. And in your beholding maybe the Holy Spirit will have his way with you as he did with the Virgin.  Maybe out if it you will conceive something, or someone, too.

Pray for the Middle East

For those of us who just returned from 8 days in Israel the escalating violence of the last few days reminds us of how much the "Holy Land" is a study in contrast.  As peace-filled and inspiring as our pilgrimage was, we were aware in the last couple of days that rockets were launching across the borders of Israel and Palestinian territory.  It now grows worse. 

The answers are not easy.  We learned while there that the region is a complex web of passion, rage, belief and yearnings for peace.  It brings to mind the words from Phillips Brooks' great Christmas Carol, O Little Town of Bethlehem: The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight. 

So as we descended a few days ago down the Mount of Olives and prayed, like Jesus, for the peace of Jerusalem, so we continue in that prayer.  And as Jesus the miracle worker long ago changed the course of history in that land, so we pray for miracles again to occur by God's grace, and through peace see history change again. 

Shalom.


         

Israel: Day 8
We awakened to a brilliant blue sky this morning, perfect for our last day in Israel.  With 36 hours of touring and traveling ahead of us we lingered a bit at breakfast and pushed off at 9:00.  Our first stop was the Garden Tomb.  This is an alternative site for Christians to remember and celebrate the crucifixion and resurrection.  The Golgotha-like hill and first century tomb and beautiful gardens put our hearts in a place of reflection and gratitude. We celebrated communion together and heard the testimony of many of how the risen Christ had appeared to them.

From the Garden Tomb we made our way back to the Old City where we visited the Pool of Bethzatha written about in John 5.  Here Jesus healed a man who had been paralyzed for 38 years.  Next to the Pool stands St. Anne's Church, a Crusader church from the 12th century that features lovely acoustics.  We sang Amazing Grace and the Doxology, pausing to hear the sound of our voices reverberate through the sanctuary.

Then it was off to lunch near the American Consulate and a tour of a diamond manufacturer's museum.  The gift shop below proved too great of a temptation for a few folks. 

We traveled then to Emmaus and to the Crusader church that stands to commemorate the walk to Emmaus by two of Jesus' followers Easter afternoon.  We were greeted by serene gardens, restored frescoes within and a welcoming brother of the monastery who held out hope for us that the world shall someday know peace through the gift of gracious hospitality.  His words were a benediction upon our eight days.  It was a perfect way to end our pilgrimage.

On the way to our farewell dinner we stopped for a moment for some to see the excavations of the 1000 B.C. City of David.

At dinner we laughed and talked and gave thanks for an incredible journey.  The coveted Baby Camel Awards (you'll have to ask one of the pilgrims what that means) were handed out to folks who uniquely distinguished themselves during the trip.  Best of all, we gave loving gifts and ovations to the two men without whom we could not have gone the first mile -- Andre our guide and Wallid our driver.  If any two men ever embodied the gifts of knowledge, navigation and graciousness these men do.  We shall remember them forever.

Off to Ben Gurion airport we fled arriving three hours before our flight.  It took just about every bit of it to get everyone through security and onto the plane.  At 11:22 pm we winged above the lights of the Promised and Holy Land rejoicing that the good Lord had kept us safe and blessed us with encounters that will alter our lives forever. 

Shalom.

Israel: Day 7
Our overnight prayers were not enough to keep the rain clouds away, but a little precipitation could not deter us from a full, full day. 

We began with the traditional pilgrim walk down the Via Dolorosa.  Starting at the site of the Antonio Fortress, where Pontius Pilate held court, we paused in the Chapel of Condemnation and reflected on the journey of Jesus to the cross, the Lamb of God slain forth sins of the world.  We commenced our walk through the Old City with brief stops along the Stations of the Cross.  We ended on the roof of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and then descended into the church where we took in the sites where Jesus was both crucified and buried.  The church seemed full of people from every nation, causing us to rejoice that the gospel has truly gone to the four corners of the world. 

From the Holy Sepulcher we paused for an early lunch at a small cafe.  After this brief respite, and with bodies fortified, we made our way back to the Temple Mount and waited for the gates to open so we could walk the   grand courtyard where the Temple once stood.  It is now the site of the Dome of the Rock, the most recognized of all Muslim mosques.  While we waited entry we had a front row view of the procession of four or five Bar Mitzvah parades complete with drums, shofars, tambourines, singing and dancing.  A few of our ladies even got recruited for a circle dance celebrating one young man's sacred passage.

After our tour of the Temple Mount, from which we viewed with awe the Mount of Olives, we returned to the bus for a short ride to Mt. Zion. 

At Mt. Zion we climbed the steps to the Upper Room and reflected upon the sacred meal of Jesus that celebrated the Passover and prepared the disciples one last time for the mission ahead of them.

From the Upper Room we walked a short distance to the House of Caiaphas, the High Priest in Jesus' day.  We viewed there a model of sixth century Jerusalem.  Afterward we toured the beautiful church that covers the site of the first century house and the dungeon below where Jesus spent his last night before dying on the cross. We heard a devotion encouraging us to remember that the same grace that was sufficient for Peter, who denied Jesus three times in the high Priest's courtyard, is sufficient for us.  We sang Amazing Grace in response to this good news.

Before we knew it the sun was setting and we were ready for our warm hotel rooms and dinner and one last night in the holiest of all cities.

Tomorrow we commune at the Garden Tomb and reflect upon the resurrection as we prepare for our final dinner together and a late, late departure from Ben Gurion Airport to home. 

Shalom.

Israel: Day 6 
We title today: Two Rainbows Over Jerusalem.  Of course to have rainbows you have to have rain.  And we had rain.  Fortunately though it occurred in the afternoon after we had already descended the Mount of Olives and visited the "Wailing" Wall. 

The day began with standing atop the Mount of Olives and receiving a lesson from Andre on Jerusalem geography.  Once we got our bearings we pondered the great Pilgrim Psalm, Psalm 122 and prayed for the peace of Jerusalem.  We descended to the place where Jesus paused in his triumphant entry to pray and weep over Jerusalem.  Our devotion encouraged us to consider our own journeys and what Christ was calling us to do as he says, "Follow me."

We proceeded down to the bottom of the Mount to the Garden of Gethsemane.  We paused before the ancient olive trees in the garden and imagined where Jesus may have knelt and prayed for the cup to pass and for God's will to be done. Our devotion challenged us in our own prayer lives and how we might trust God for the strength and guidance we need. 

Then it was on to the Old City of Jerusalem where we visited what some call the Wailing Wall, but what the people of Israel call simply The Wall. Perhaps the holiest of all Jewish sites. Each took their turn before the 2000 year old stones and prayed.  From there we toured the foundations of the original first century Temple through the Western Wall tunnel and saw cut stones 50 million tons big. King Herod knew how to build!!!

As the rain began that was our cue for lunch.  But  on our way we looked behind us to see a rainbow rising in the sky, arching over the Temple Mount reminding us again that God never gives up on us. 

We spread ourselves around the Jewish Quarter for some sandwiches. After lunch and on our way to the bus we saw another rainbow higher in the sky -- as if to say, "Don't forget!"  We loaded up and traveled to the Israel Museum and viewed the Shrine of the Book which contains exhibits of the Qumran Dead Sea Scrolls. Original fragments are on display.

We ended the day with a sobering visit to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial and Museum.  The exhibits are nearly overwhelming with the suffering of so many at the hands of the Nazi's.  Man's inhumanity to man.  The final exhibit was the Children's Memorial, a darkened room with endless points of light.  Each point a reflection from one light.  I couldn't help think of God pointing Abraham to the star filled  sky and assuring him of the countless descendants he would someday have. 1.5 million children of the Holocaust - all points of light and sons and daughters of Abraham. 

Wet and tired we made our way back to the hotel with the abiding sense that the only light that can dispel the darkness is the light of Christ.  And our only hope - the God who made his promise to us in the rainbow. 

Shalom.

Israel: Day 5
A beautiful day greeted us again this morning at the Dead Sea.  We experienced a little of Israeli Sabbath last night and today with Shabbat elevators (no pushing buttons), and limited food services due to Sabbath restrictions.  We managed fine and were on our way at 8am to Masada.  We took a cable car up the mountain and spent a good portion of time learning about King Herod the Great and his penchant for palaces and security.  We pondered the story of the Jewish Zealots who retreated to this fortress in the face of the 66 A.D. Roman invasion.  The Romans laid siege to the the fortress for three years and finally built a ramp to ascend the heights and ram the walls.  All their effort, however, was met with the remains of the mass suicide of the Zealots who preferred death over captivity.

From Masada we journeyed north a few miles to En Gedi -  the lovely oasis in the midst of the Judean wilderness.  We were met with the bad news that a rock slide had closed the park to entry.  Preparing to return to the bus, we nevertheless stopped to listen to a wonderful devotion on Psalm 23. Immediately at the conclusion of the devotion they announced the reopening of the park!

Most of us hiked back into the cleft of the mountains to see the remarkable springs and waterfalls.  We paused and listened to the story of David sparing Saul in En Gedi and wondered to whom each of us owed mercy.

From En Gedi we journeyed north and west, leaving behind the wilderness and making our way to the big city.  With a swing through Jerusalem we passed through the Wall that separates Bethlehem from Jerusalem (West Bank from Israel).  We stopped and had lunch at a sandwich shop and then proceeded to a large gift store to satisfy the shopping addiction of many. 

With shopping bags stuffed into our seats, we proceeded to the Church of the Nativity.  Andre explained  the three Christian traditions that maintain claims on the church - Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Orthodox.  We ended up visiting the cave where Jesus was born beneath the Roman Catholic Chapel.

From the Church of the Nativity and Manger Square we took a short ride to the Shepherd's Fields outside Bethlehem and explored some caves where likely the Bethlehem shepherds kept watch over their flocks by night.  We heard a lovely devotion from two of our group about the witness and worship of the shepherds.

We got to our hotel in Jerusalem after nightfall.  A busy and fulfilling day, to be sure!

Tomorrow: the Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane and the Old City. 

Shalom.