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Weblog Archives: December 2002
Tuesday, December 31, 2002
Another burst from Charles Wesley as a fitting end to 2002, a hymn associated with Watchnight Services:
Come, let us anew our journey pursue,Happy New Year!
Roll round with the year,
And never stand still till the Master appear,
His adorable will let us gladly fulfill,
And our talents improve,
By the patience of hope, and the labour of love,
By the patience of hope, and the labour of love.Our life is a dream; our time, as a stream,
Glides swiftly away,
And the fugitive moment refuses to stay,
The arrow is flown, the moment is gone;
The millennial year
Rushes on to our view, and eternity’s here,
Rushes on to our view, and eternity’s here.O that each in the day of His coming may say,
“I have fought my way through;
I have finished the work Thou didst give me to do!”
O that each from his Lord may receive the glad word,
“Well and faithfully done!
Enter into My joy, and sit down on My throne!”
“Enter into My joy, and sit down on My throne!”
Posted by Richard @ 07:07 PM BST [Link]
How can this make sense?
Yesterday I had a card from Florida, 3000 miles from here, posted on 17th December.
This morning, a card from Cardiff, 40 miles away. Posted on Decembers 16th.
???????Posted by Richard @ 07:04 PM BST [Link]
I got this in my email (thanks Pat!) and it raised a smile - hope it does the same four ewe
There's no excuse for poor spelling now everyone has a spell checker on their desktop - it's just a matter of getting people to use it.Enywun kanspel
Eye halve a spelling chequer, it came with my pea see
It plainly marques four my revue, Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.
Eye strike a key and type a word and weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write, it shows me strait a weigh.As soon as a mist ache is maid, it nose bee for two long
And eye can put the error rite, its rare lea ever wrong.
Eye have run this peom threw it, I am shore your pleased too no
Its letter perfect awl the weigh, my chequer told me sew.
(Sauce unknown)Posted by Richard @ 10:26 AM BST [Link]
Has God ever frightened you?
Have you ever been blown into the path of His Power and Might in a way that stops the world?God is scaring me.
I don't 'serve' God with fuzzy feelings.
My conversion experience wasn't emotional.
I rarely 'feel' Him.
I serve Him because of Who He is.
Every once in awhile, rarely, He reveals Himself in ways that goes so far beyond my knowing or understanding I cannot comprehend what is happening. I cannot handle my humaness before Him. I only know I am in the presence of Holiness so terrible, so gripping, so complete, I am lost. I am found.God and I wrestled a few weeks ago. He wanted me to let go of something. I didn't want to. Really? And just who am I to wrestle with God?
To make a long story short, God won.
I was not thrilled about it.
A lot has happened since.
I was praying for a blogger today.
And God entered the room. Just. Like. That.
He saw my heart and I cried out:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of a Living God.
I just went to spend time in the Word. I'm still shaking. I've been pierced. I've been blinded. The scripture:
Psalm 139
Around me is this swell of laughter. Universal peels of Joy.My favorite hymn is O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go
I cannot speak before this.
I know Richard is the minister here. He does the scripture reading and the teaching and the hymns.
He can take over. I don't know what to do.
God is scaring me.
Posted by Bene Diction @ 02:18 AM BST [Link]
Monday, December 30, 2002
Nothing cheers the heart of a blog-keeper so much as discovering a new site that's linked to them, especially when that site looks interesting and well-written. So I was feeling particularly cheery this morning when I found My Valentine. I'm looking forward to reading more of this blog in future.
The December 27th entry caught my eye, on consumerism and gift-giving:One of the things I've thought a lot about recently is gift-giving and the hyper-consumeristic habits that come out during this time of year. As I've read blogs and message boards I've seen a very anti-consumer mentality emerging lately that purposely or unintentionally comes across as anti-gift-giving. I think this is a bit short sighted.I agree. It is very easy for the anti-consumerist to appear to be joyless and even tight-fisted. But gift-giving doesn't have to be an orgy of spending - we all know that a simple gift given with love is worth more than an expensive one given out of duty. I wouldn't even want to ask people not to spend lots of money, if they have it to spend. What matters is the spirit in which gifts are given, and ironically it's that spirit that is most at risk in the Christmas festivities.
"What do you want for Christmas?" - whether asked by parents, grannies, or shopping centre Santas - has to be one of the most asked questions during November and December. And it's that question that is putting Christmas gift-giving at risk. The emphasis has shifted away from painstakingly choosing the right gift for a loved one and is now centred on satisfying an expressed want. I've heard of parents this year who gave their children a store catalogue and a budget, and asked them to provide a list of stock numbers so that they could get exactly the right things with the minimum inconvenience.
This is tragic. If you think of what the world would have got if God had asked for a 'Christmas list' - certainly not the baby of Bethlehem, who invites all manner of men and women to join him in the kingdom of God.Posted by Richard @ 03:08 PM BST [Link]
Here you go...a work in progress.
I need to get some shut eye.
My respect for techs is growing by the hour.Posted by Bene Diction @ 01:03 AM BST [Link]
Sunday, December 29, 2002
Blogwise is a new site bringing you a collection of categorised blogs from around the world. Whatever your taste, interest and culture - there's bound to be a blog out there written by a person just like you.
Well worth a browse.Posted by Richard @ 09:39 PM BST [Link]
My daughter Ruth (now almost 6) has chickenpox. Not exactly festive, but it could be worse. I got her a bottle of antihistamine syrup, specially formulated for children. On the box is a warning which reads:
Warning
May cause drowsiness.
Do not drive,
operate heavy machinery
or consume alcohol
whilst taking this product.
She'll be devastated when she realises she'll have to give up driving the forklift and her nightime vodka.Posted by Richard @ 09:17 PM BST [Link]
The Gutless Pacificist asks what it means to love your enemies, and answers with a powerful story from Haiti.
Posted by Richard @ 01:39 PM BST [Link]
Our friend Bene Diction is looking for a new home for his blog. In the meantime, as you'll have seen, he's a house guest at connexions.
Posted by Richard @ 08:49 AM BST [Link]
Guest blogger Bene Diction writes:
It has been a very long couple of days.By tomorrow Bene Diction Blogs On will hopefully be tweaked enough at a new host to be ready for your visits. It may be a temporary site.
I am a total tech dud and need time to make wise choices.
When it is ready, late tomorrow afternoon or evening EST, I'll post the URL.John 12:20-28 has been a passage of scripture the last few days that is 'spirit breathed.'
Greeks come to observe Passover. Outcasts. Outsiders. They approach Philip and ask to see Jesus.
See Philip was from a more multi cultural city and was pretty cool about it.
Philip gets Andrew and off they go to ask.No one did anything alone. They went together. They supported each other.
Jesus welcomes them. Richard, thank you for welcoming me.
I got stuck on the part in verses 23-24 about the kernal of wheat dying.
I didn't see the rest, until I was absolutely overwhelmed and flooded with kind emails from bloggers today. I am in awe of grace. I have been given much. May I also give much.
This is what I didn't see.
.....a plentiful harvest. Pruned. Cared for. Fruit in the season of time.I have lost my blog. The reasons don't make sense. I am moving on. I will accept the mercy, empathy, kindness, understanding and grace from His people, His bloggers.
My prayer as I wrestle with new hard tech things and make diffficult decisions about a permanent home, verse 28.... "Father, bring glory and honour to Your Name" is my heart's cry.
Bene Diction will Blog On! Stay tuned.
This is very cool. A Canuck posting in Wales.
Posted by Bene Diction @ 08:12 AM BST [Link]
Saturday, December 28, 2002
The internet can be great, can't it? I can say with honesty that I've made some genuine friends via email, bulletin board and the web with people I've never met in places I've never been to. It is possible to build up a sense of common purpose and shared vision and when it works the results can be life-enriching. Communities built this way tend to be self-selecting in a way that is not possible off-line - "lurking" around a bulletin board can give a visitor a good idea of the sort of place it is without anyone ever knowing they were there (unless they look carefully at their access logs). Try getting away with that in the average church or social club!
But there is a downside to this. It seems that "internet friendship" is of necessity more fragile than the more conventional variety. There seems to be a greater tendency to take offence, to "speak" more harshly than most people would in a face-to-face conversation and fallings-out can be devastatingly sudden. For all the virtuality of the internet friendship, when it breaks down the pain and sense of loss is very real and can impact on a very wide group of people.
Perhaps it is because internet friendships are so easily made that they they are also easily broken - "easy come, easy go". Most of the clues we get in our norml interactions - facial expression, body language, tone of voice etc - are denied us on the internet and we are left with only our own feelings and the actual words that are exchanged. If either or both side is below par, if cultural diversity leads to a subtly different reading of the same words, if misundestanding escalates unchecked we have a recipe for the breakdown of a relationship.
I don't have any answers to this. I'm not sure I even have the beginnings of an answer. Just be careful out there.Posted by Richard @ 01:30 PM BST [Link]
Friday, December 27, 2002
Cruciform Chronicle asks "Which Jesus was born?"
Posted by Richard @ 11:39 PM BST [Link]
Merry Christmas!
It is, you know. Despite the world's determination to get on with things, we're still in the Christmas season, and I intend to enjoy every moment. I took a couple of days away from the keyboard (richly deserved, of course) and I'm grateful to Ivan for his contribution on Christmas Day. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did.
What does this season mean to you? Behind all the cliches, what is it about? This is the story of the self-emptying of God. I wanted to write "the beginning of the story...", but of course that wouldn't be true. But if it is not the beginning, it is most certainly not the end. The Christmas story claims that the God who put the stars in their courses, and keeps them there, chose to reveal his glory most fully in the frailty of human flesh. And not important human flesh either. A baby of controversial parentage born to a poor family far from home is the bearer of good news from God.
"The Word became flesh and dwelt among us," says John. In this baby and in the man he became, God reveals himself - shows us who is, makes himself known as fully as it is possible within the limits of the material world and the constraints of the human mind. "God with us."
But what good does it do, God being with us? Doesn't he still set an impossible standard, an unattainable goal. He shows us himself, but surely the clarity of the vision makes our position in relation to him all the more difficult. At least before there was some justice in claiming ignorance as an excuse, but now we have been shown who we were meant to be and it makes our failure all the more clear. Jesus is "God's self-portrait", and he is a picture full of life, challenge and choice.
But that is only half the story. It is not just that in Jesus, God offers himself to the world but also that in Jesus our frail humanity is offered perfect back to God. Not only does God come among us and invite a response - he also makes the perfect response on our behalf. Every feeble, faltering and hesitant step of faith we make is caught up in the perfection of his faithfulness so that we are able with boldness to approach the throne of his grace. Not because we're good enough, but because he is.
He became what we are, that we might become what he is.Posted by Richard @ 11:34 PM BST [Link]
Wednesday, December 25, 2002
My early years were spent growing up in North Carolina, Michigan and Arkansas. Several years were also spent in Kentucky and Georgia. Christmas in those states was often cold, and many times involved a good groundcovering of the white stuff. Before venturing to Swansea this summer, I bought a Dylan Thomas cd where he tells of Christmas in Swansea and snow and cold were a definite part of the picture.
Having lived in Florida on and off since 1975, I still can't get used to Christmas without cold and snow. Last night we dodged rain storms (there was even a tornado near Kennedy Space Center last night) to hold our Christmas eve services. Instead of cold and white, fluffy snow there were torrential downpours and warm, humid air. Still, the services drew us back to the manger and the birth of our Savior (which, by the way, probably was not in winter at all). Christmas is not restricted to our expectations, but amazingly continues to transcend our attempts to standardize it. While I write this, the sky is bright and blue, the cold front is blowing all the clouds away and the temperature is approaching 60 F. But, I'm not dreaming of a white Christmas. I'm looking forward to the arrival of family, have enjoyed opening presents with Deb, Chris and Rachel and began the day with a devotion about the wise men who arrived a couple years later. We then carried out a tradition we started fifteen years ago by singing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus after lighting all the Advent candles and the Christ candle on our coffee table. Joy to the world, the Lord has come! Would that our earth would quit all its foolishness and receive her King!
May all who read this have a very blessed Christmas and a very wonderful, Christ-filled New Year!
Ivan
P.S. I do need to rub in the fact that two days before Christmas I got to play golf in 75 F weather with beautiful blue sky wearing short sleeves. I didn't play well, but who cares on days like that at the beginning of Winter? I need reminders like that for me to remember why we moved to Florida from Colorado in November, 1975.
Posted by Ivanthecrank @ 05:29 PM BST [Link]
Tuesday, December 24, 2002
Busy day today. There's the domestic preparations of course. Unlike most Britons we won't be sitting down to turkey tomorrow (on account of being vegetarian), but there is still the special pine nut roast to get ready. Most other chores are done, I just need to find a few moments to wrap one or two presents.
At 4:30 this afternoon I have a service for children, followed by a "bring and share" tea. Although it is very much aimed at young children, the sevice seems to be popular with those of more mature years. We'll be celebrating a communion service at 11:30 tonight - this is my favourite service of the year.So I hope you find joy and peace this Christmas. Whatever struggles you face in the future, may the light of the presence of Christ be always with you.
Happy Christmas!
Posted by Richard @ 12:31 PM BST [Link]
A quote on US foreign policy I received in a Christmas letter looks particularly apt today:
When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.Quite.Posted by Richard @ 12:59 AM BST [Link]
Monday, December 23, 2002
Should I stay or should I go finally gets an answer.
So long.Posted by Richard @ 04:14 PM BST [Link]
If the Nativity stories are intended to tell us about Jesus, what do they say? Let's remind ourselves of the "plot" first:
In Matthew we begin apparently in Bethlehem. The angel appears in a dream to Joseph. Jesus is born. The visitors from the east follow a star. The flight to Egypt. The slaughter of the innocents. Joseph moves his family to Nazareth.
In Luke we begin in Nazareth. The angel comes to Mary. (There's a sub-plot concerning the birth of John). The imperial census and journey to Bethlehem. Laid in a manger - no room at the inn. Shepherds. Heavenly host. Circumcision and presentation at the Temple. Simeon and Anna rejoice.
Both writers have genealogies of Jesus, but they're different.Most often we read these accounts as though they're giving different details of the same story. Whilst that's just about possible, I think doing misses important truths because it erases the distinctive emphases of the two gospel writers. And it also throws up some interesting surprises.
Matthew, it is often said, is the most Jewish gospel. In it, Jesus is presented as the successor to Moses. He gives a new law from the mountain and renews the Covenant relationship with God. It is not surprising, then, that the infancy of Jesus parrallels the infancy of Moses though where Egypt was a place of slavery it becomes a haven. The genealogy of Jesus places him very firmly in the history of Israel, beginning with Abraham. The Church is the new Israel, with Christ at its head. But here's the big surprise: in this most Jewish story the first visitors are foreigners and followers of another faith. Jesus is a Jewish Messiah for all the world.
By contrast, Luke is a gentile gospel written in a style much like that of his contemporary biographers and historians. His genealogy of Jesus places him in the history of the world, tracing his ancestry back to Adam. It is not Isael which is being renewed, but humanity itself. Jesus is the second Adam. Just as the rest of his gospel is filled with stories of the outcast and powerless, so in the nativity story the main actors are of little account - a barren woman, a pregnant teenager, shepherds, the elderly Simeon and Anna. This is to be the Messiah who announces good news to the poor, the year of the Lord's favour. But even though this might be thought of as a gentile story, Luke is careful over the fulfillment of the rituals of the Jewish law. This is a Saviour for the whole world, but there is a continuity between the traditions of Israel and the ministry of Jesus.
Matthew and Luke are not merely recorders of events. They are at least as much theologians as they are historians, much more so in my view. They shape their material to give the best account they can of the truth about Jesus. What concerns them is not principally his birth story, but his significance as "the Son of the Most High". That's what needs to concern us today.
Posted by Richard @ 11:24 AM BST [Link]
Canadian blogger and pastor Richard Bott has been writing a series, "Christus Natus est". It begins in his Dec 21st entry and it's beautiful. You need to read it.
Posted by Richard @ 09:54 AM BST [Link]
There has been some controversy over film the BBC has made about the Virgin Mary. I saw part of it and wondered what the fuss was about - there certainly wasn't anything in it that a 17yr old student of religious studies should have been unaware of. "Old hat" about sums it up. We learned that Mary may not have dressed in the traditional blue. Big deal. Her arranged marriage to Joseph might not have been for love. Hold the front page! I turned over to watch Blazing Saddles instead. Don't tell me the camp fire scene is crude and loutish. I know - and I still laughed like a drain.
I do worry about the way that some (most?) Christians treat the Nativity stories, as though if anyone asks if the events were not exactly as they're portrayed in the countless school plays that somehow the integrity and truth of the Bible is being questioned. "Biblical criticism" is used as a dirty phrase, and it shouldn't be.
A serious look at the stories told by Matthew and Luke reveals some puzzles, but that's only a problem if you're determined that they are telling the same story. For example, Matthew clearly implies that Mary and Joseph live in Bethlehem - they only go to Nazareth after their flight to Egypt. It is Luke who has them travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem and back again. Only Matthew mentions the star, and he doesn't say anything about how bright it was. Whatever, the carol may say, there is no mention of the shepherds (they're in Luke) having seen it. If you put the two stories together as witnesses of "events", what they agree about is that Jesus was born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth - and not much else. But that isn't a problem. It's a glory! The early church had ample opportunity to harmonise these accounts, and it didn't happen. It didn't happen because both accounts are essentially true.
What, after all, is the purpose of these nativity stories? They're a sort of preview of the good news that follows. They reveal what their authors believed to be the truth about Jesus. But they are not, absolutley not, biographies in any modern sense of the word. We are not dealing with objective, dispassionate writing. This is from the faithful for the faithful. Asking questions of these texts is not to deny their authority and truthfulness. It is about seeking the message that Matthew and Luke have for us by reading what they actually say, rather than reading their accounts through a filter of Primary School drama.
I'll do some more about this tomorrow. Leaving it here leaves me wide open to flaming and a risk of being misunderstood, but I'm tired and my bed seems more important than my blog! So hold back those flames!
Posted by Richard @ 12:11 AM BST [Link]
Sunday, December 22, 2002
I got this in my email, and it made me smile so I thought I'd share it.
Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, our best
wishes for an environmentally-conscious, socially-responsible,
low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter
solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of
the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your
choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or
traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or
secular traditions at all.And a financially-successful, personally-fulfilling, and
medically-uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the
generally-accepted calendar year 2003, but not without due respect
for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to
society have helped make this country great (not to imply that is
country is necessarily greater than any other country), and without
regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious
faith, choice of computer platform, or sexual preference of the wishee.Posted by Richard @ 11:29 PM BST [Link]
Time for a bit more from Charles Wesley, this time a hymn which his brother John apparently thought his best about the Nativity. In it, Wesley sees the birth of Christ as the dawn of a new heaven and a new earth, recalling the vision of the prophet Isaiah.
ALL glory to God in the sky,
And peace upon earth be restored!
O Jesus, exalted on high,
Appear our omnipotent Lord!
Who, meanly in Bethlehem born,
Didst stoop to redeem a lost race,
Once more to thy creatures return,
And reign in thy kingdom of grace.When thou in our flesh didst appear,
All nature acknowledged thy birth;
Arose the acceptable year,
And heaven was opened on earth:
Receiving its Lord from above,
The world was united to bless
The giver of concord and love,
The Prince and the author of peace.O wouldst thou again be made known!
Again in thy Spirit descend,
And set up in each of thine own
A kingdom that never shall end.
Thou only art able to bless,
And make the glad nations obey,
And bid the dire enmity cease,
And bow the whole world to thy sway.Come then to thy servants again,
Who long thy appearing to know,
Thy quiet and peaceable reign
In mercy establish below;
All sorrow before thee shall fly,
And anger and hatred be o'er,
And envy and malice shall die,
And discord afflict us no moreNo horrid alarum of war
Shall break our eternal repose,
No sound of the trumpet is there,
Where Jesus's Spirit o'erflows;
Appeased by the charms of thy grace,
We all shall in amity join,
And kindly each other embrace,
And love with a passion like thine.Posted by Richard @ 04:14 PM BST [Link]
Saturday, December 21, 2002
I'm deeply embarassed about this. I promise not to let it happen again. But Bene Diction asked nicely, so you know who to blame. "Any road" (as they say where I come from), here's a "Benediction for Bene Diction".
May the Lord God bless and defend youHear the tune (1k file)
Work in you all that is good
May he light your path
May he guide your way
In his peace enfold you.
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Living Word,
AMENMy apologies again.
Posted by Richard @ 02:27 PM BST [Link]
Friday, December 20, 2002
The Cluttered workspace of Scottish John has a festive puzzle that may make you scratch your head, and should certainly raise a smile. It did both for me, anyhow.
Posted by Richard @ 09:37 PM BST [Link]
One of the puzzles of this blogging malarkey is my absolute inability to judge what others will find intersting or useful, at least if comments and links are anything to go by (and what else is there?). Sometimes I have posted a piece which I have been sure was a waste of time, and found half a dozen comments added by the next day. Other times, my pride has told me that I've posted something which will get my fellow bloggers "tongues wagging" and been met with - - - - In "the grand scheme of things" I suppose it isn't a matter of great consequence, but I find it slightly disconcerting.
It seems I'm not the only one who has this trouble. Yesterday I mentioned Martin Roth's piece about pastor stealing. Dean at blogs4God mentioned it too, and I thought that this would produce a flurry of responses from Christian blogs. But not a bit of it. Apart from looking back...looking forward, I haven't seen much response.
I'm not sure it means anything. I just find it strange.Posted by Richard @ 09:22 PM BST [Link]
Wednesday, December 18, 2002
A stupid Christmas joke:
Q. How does King Wenceslas like his pizza?
A. Deep pan, crisp and even.
Posted by Richard @ 11:12 PM BST [Link]
Martin Roth - it's that man again! - has posted about his church's "recruitment" of a new pastor:
Last week my church voted to call a new senior pastor. The man in question has accepted our call. It seems we’re stealing him from another church. I have a question: aren’t there some ethics involved in this?I can't claim to have any direct experience of this, since British Methodism is organised as a Connexion and the moves of our ministers are organised centrally, but why should lack of experience prevent me from having an opinion?
For me, key questions would be around the "who approached who and why" type of issue. In other words, did the church advertise for a pastor and the man respond, or was the man "headhunted" and enticed away with pay and conditions in the way that is common in commercial situations. Will the move come as a total shock to the pastor's present congregation, or do they know he is contemplating a move? I don't like the language of 'contract' being applied to pastoral appointments. The distinction may seem subtle, but 'covenant' is a more appropriate model here. I hate to sound pompous ("What! Really?"), and I hardly dare say this, but the quality of integrity is perhaps the most important in a pastor. More important than the quality of sermons and all the rest of it. Integrity. I fear that the ability to walk away from a covenant relationship with a congregation calls that integrity into question.
The other issue Martin raises is about the effect on the church that is being left behind. I have strong views about this too, no doubt coming from my convictions about the connexional model. But if the church that is being left would be injured by the move, then it should not happen. Our task as God's people is to build up the body of Christ, not merely the limb of it that we belong to. No one would deliberately hurt their legs in order to have stronger arms. Neither should the church.
Posted by Richard @ 11:10 PM BST [Link]
Tuesday, December 17, 2002
Some while ago, Martin Roth wrote a piece asking if there was still a place for lament in Christian worship. He concluded that there was, and I agreed with him. I've been thinking about this on-and-off ever since, and yesterday when I picked up my tinwhistle to have a blow, a lamenty-type tune emerged from it. Given that it was his words that set me off, it seems only fair that I call the tune "Martin Roth's Lament". I've written some words based on Psalm 40: 12-17. I'm not making any great claims for either words or music but I offer them in the hope that they might be helpful to someone.
My troubles they are many
Too many to recount
My sin has all caught up with me
My mind is filled with doubt
I cry to you for safety,
For, though you seem far off
I know you're always with me
My saviour and my God!
Update:Here's a computer-generated midi version of the tune.Posted by Richard @ 01:16 PM BST [Link]
Monday, December 16, 2002
In my view, this is one of Charles Wesley's finest efforts, revealing his genius of conveying great truth in only a few words. If anyone has ever managed a more concise insight into the mystery of the incarnation than the last two lines of the first stanza, I have never seen it.
LET earth and heaven combine,
Angels and men agree,
To praise in songs divine
The incarnate Deity,
Our God contracted to a span,
Incomprehensibly made man.He laid his glory by,
He wrapped him in our clay;
Unmarked by human eye,
The latent Godhead lay;
Infant of days he here became,
And bore the mild Immanuel's name.Unsearchable the love
That hath the Saviour brought;
The grace is far above
Or man or angels thought;
Suffice for us that God, we know,
Our God, is manifest below.He deigns in flesh to appear,
Widest extremes to join;
To bring our vileness near,
And make us all divine:
And we the life of God shall know,
For God is manifest below.Made perfect first in love,
And sanctified by grace,
We shall from earth remove,
And see his glorious face:
Then shall his love be fully showed,
And man shall then be lost in God.Posted by Richard @ 11:31 PM BST [Link]
Dean at Heal Your Church Website says, If you've ever written a recursive program, you'll understand what I'm after ...
I haven't, and I'm not sure that I do.
This is all too subtle for me.Posted by Richard @ 04:56 PM BST [Link]
Sunday, December 15, 2002
When John the Baptist heard in prison about the things that Christ was doing, he sent some of his disciples to him. "Tell us," they asked Jesus, "are you the one John said was going to come, or should we expect another?"John's whole life had been about preparing the way for Jesus. Luke tells us that he recognises the Messiah even unborn in his mother's womb. His task appeared to have been done, welcoming Jesus at the River Jordan, knowing there that Jesus is "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world". But now he has reached the end of the road, languishing in jail awaiting his inevitable execution. His doubts are understandable. Bound, not only by his chains but by his expectations of how the Messiah would be, he finds it difficult to recognise in Jesus the Messiah for whom he had faithfully prepared a way.
Like John, we are often bound by our certainties and expectations, failing to see the work of God because it doesn't fit the way we know God to be. But the Jesus of the resurrection will not be constrained - he has always shaken the respectable and challenged the settled opinions of those he encounters. Pharisee and prostitute, Jew and gentile, menial slave and powerful governor - all have found in Jesus the offer of God's kingdom. From St Paul and St Peter, through Martin Luther, John Wesley and countless others - the story has been the same. Christ has always been just ahead, calling, calling ... "Follow me."Posted by Richard @ 11:37 PM BST [Link]
Saturday, December 14, 2002
A quick canter round some other blogs...
John Campea says, "Jesus wouldn't drop bombs on people." To which the only response must be "Amen".
Jordan Cooper raises the issue of Kissinger's alleged war crimes
Kyriosity has a Christmas poem by U A Fanthorpe, one of the few poets I can claim to enjoy. (So I'm a cultureless philistine!) She also has a few helpful words on eschatology, and let's face it - we need all the help we can get.
Martin Roth is always worth reading. His most recent post wonders at the decline in Biblical literacy.
The sharp decline in biblical literacy in the West should be of concern to all – Christians and non-Christians alike. It is the stories of the Bible that have shaped our culture. Lose the stories and society loses its moorings.Tolle Blogge questions whether cultural appropriation is always, well, appropriate as means of conveying the gospel. Does the medium distort the message?
Plenty to think about in that little lot!
Posted by Richard @ 11:36 PM BST [Link]
Friday, December 13, 2002
Strange, isn't it, how the desire to own stuff can distort our thinking? Maybe it's just me, but sometimes an itch develops that we know will only go away if we go into a shop and part with some money. How our lives will improve, we tell ourselves, if I just had ...
It's happening to me. I must have mentioned here before that I've been known to toot on a tinwhistle from time to time. Not very well, to be sure, but I enjoy it. Tin whistles are very cheap for the most part, and I have quite a little collection of them. Too many according to my daughter. Today I paid a visit to my local music shop - a thoroughly excellent little emporium, always full of delights - and discovered they had a "low whistle" in the window, an all-metal "Chieftain" model big enough to defend yourself with in a street fight. (Not that I get into many street fights, you understand!) And I wanted it. I asked the shopkeeper "How much?" knowing before she spoke that it would be approaching £100 and entirely beyond the family means, but I still wanted it. I tell myself - "Practice is what will improve your playing, not another new instrument", and I know I'm telling the truth. I have a low whistle already, I don't need another. I thought that this public admission of shame would change my mind, but I find I'm unmoved.God, give me strength.
Or a new low whistle.
Posted by Richard @ 11:43 PM BST [Link]
The British government has nicked my name. No fair.
Posted by Richard @ 03:05 PM BST [Link]
Thursday, December 12, 2002
I've been to 2 Primary School nativity presentations this week, and very good they were. Neither were exactly traditional, but they both had tea-towels, dressing gowns and lots of tinsel. The kids did really well and presented both the Christmas story and its meaning very clearly. The most evangelical church in Swansea could have done no better.
One scene in the nativity story that's beloved of the Christmas play writers is the one in which Mary and Joseph tramp from inn to inn asking, "Do you have any room?" until finding their way out of the cold into the shelter of the stable:She gave birth to her first-born, wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger - there was no room for them to stay in the innIt is a shocking image, an expectant couple made homeless by the casual brutality of officialdom, and one which has spawned thousands of sermons which speak of Christ in solidarity with the least and the lowest. I've preached some of them myself, and I'm not going to deny the truth they contain.
Suppose, though, that our traditional reading of this verse is mistaken. Suppose that where we read "inn" we ought to read "guest room", which is how Luke clearly intends the same word (kataluma) in Luke 22:11 What then?
Joseph goes to Bethlehem, the city of his ancestors, with his betrothed and plans to do what anyone would do in his circumstances - go and stay with a member of his family. By custom, hospitality - especially to family - was a sacred duty. Surely here in the family town there'd be someone who could put them up?
But no. No room. "The house is full Joseph. You understand - I'd help if I could." Read this way the Christian gospel begins, not with the meaningless apologies of a hotelier who's overbooked, but with the embarassment of a family turning away one of their own. As at the end, so at the beginning: Christ is rejected by those who should most gladly receive him.
And I wonder. In the rush to prepare for Christmas, to get the house ready, to have all the cards sent in time, to have the best possible sermons for the season - do we who should receive him with greatest gladness end up by rejecting him all over again?Posted by Richard @ 11:09 PM BST [Link]
Wednesday, December 11, 2002
Bible Geek has been quite vexed about some Christian blogs refusal to link to other blogs that include links to sites they don't approve of. The name of Andrew Sullivan keeps arising in this context because, apparently, he's gay (and a Christian, I'm told).
This is nonsense. The internet, and especially 'the blogosphere', is full of links. That's the point of it. By following these links you could probably get from any site on the internet to almost any other site. (Could there be an entertaining competition in this??) Trying to keep all your links 'pure' is surely a fool's errand. Anyhow, blogs are about conversations. The best conversations bring in lots of different voices and viewpoints. At least, I think they do.
I recall a little while ago our friend Bene Diction brought up a similar theme, suggesting that a "linking policy" for a blog might be a good idea. So here's mine: I link to whoever I choose. If they link back to me I smile, but I won't be offended if they don't. And I won't expect to think that all of their blogroll meets with my approval. So now you know.Posted by Richard @ 11:11 PM BST [Link]
So the scud missiles weren't for Saddam. Yemen are going to look after them. Aren't you glad that they're in such safe hands?
Posted by Richard @ 10:43 PM BST [Link]
I don't approve of the vandalism of other people's property. It is very, very naughty and bad. The Billboard Liberation Front are not so squeamish. Their campaign of "subvertising" has been going on for 25 years. (I strongly urge you not to follow the "I disagree" link on their front page - it links to a site containing material which many will find offensive)
This is naughty too. You shouldn't do this.
"Buy Nothing Day" may have been and gone, but the site is still worth a visit.
Posted by Richard @ 07:12 PM BST [Link]
Tuesday, December 10, 2002
Both "the G-man" and "the Barrister" have responded to Saturday's post about the 2nd Amendment. They're not persuaded. I never really thought they would be. This is as much an issue about cultural- (and self-) identity as it is about the result of rational debate. We understand one anothers words, but we really don't understand where we're each "coming from" on this one. "Ne'er the twain shall meet."
Posted by Richard @ 11:56 PM BST [Link]
Monday, December 9, 2002
The Gower Peninsular is one of the most beautiful parts of Britain, and only "a stone's throw" from where I live. A member of our Circuit is putting together this website to promote Gower's delights, and it is coming along nicely. Have a look, and don't forget to send a word of encouragement if you're feeling strong enough.
Posted by Richard @ 11:54 PM BST [Link]
I thought this was absolutely priceless:
Posted by Richard @ 11:45 PM BST [Link]
My heart went out to Karl Kohlhase at Daily Crumbs where he wrote on Saturday
I consider shopping to be a great joy!Believe me, Karl - I know exactly what you mean!
That's because James 1:2 says, "Consider it all joy, my brethren. when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance."
And if you think shopping alone is a trial, try it with a seven year old and a three year old. A few more days like today and my faith should be looking pretty good.Posted by Richard @ 04:19 PM BST [Link]
Saturday, December 7, 2002
From blogs4God I learned of the Mighty Barrister's frustration with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Apparently they've been eating too much tofu and think that the 2nd Amendment is intended to maintain effective state militias and is not an individual right. TMB disagrees. Constitutionally, he may be right (what would I know?). But he does not ask (or answer!) the crucial question: whether the first part of the 2nd Amendment is still relevant in the 21st Century. But I've written about this before. No one took any notice of me then either.
Posted by Richard @ 07:03 PM BST [Link]
I found the link to this interesting article in the comments to a post at the Cruciform Chronicle put there by good friend of connexions, Bene Diction. It's a brief article, well-written, to the point - and wrong.
Headlined "In the beginning was the word" it continuesTHE OPENING of the Gospel of John is the perfect expression of the Bible's crucial role in Western civilization.Sorry to be contradictory but, no, it isn't. The beginning of the Gospel of John is not about the Bible in any way shape or form. John continues "the Word was with God, and the Word was God" and later "the Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us." This is not about the Bible. It's about Jesus.
The article later saysSince the Bible began to be shaped about 2,500 years ago, the West has never lost touch with it, as it did with the works of classical antiquity in the Dark Ages. The distilled thought of an ancient Near Eastern culture has never seemed foreign, but rather the most familiar source of intellectual, moral and spiritual ideas available to us. We have always been, and still remain, the people of that book.I agree wholeheartedly with the first part of this, but that last sentence is wrong again. We are not people of that book or any other. We belong to Christ. Can the Bible save? Is the Bible Lord? Are we called "Biblians"? No! The Bible is important because it points us to Jesus, "the author and perfecter of our faith."Update: The article isn't as brief as I thought. Just so you know.
Posted by Richard @ 12:37 PM BST [Link]
Friday, December 6, 2002
My daughters have definitely engaged "Christmas mode", to the extent that it can be hard to keep a grip on the facr that it's still really Advent. As a reminder to myself, and maybe to you, here's a magnificent Advent hymn from the pen of Charles Wesley:
1.Come, thou long expected Jesus,
born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in thee.2. Israel's strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth thou art;
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart.3. Born thy people to deliver,
born a child and yet a King,
born to reign in us forever,
now thy gracious kingdom bring.4. By thine own eternal spirit
rule in all our hearts alone;
by thine all sufficient merit,
raise us to thy glorious throne.Posted by Richard @ 08:59 PM BST [Link]
Thursday, December 5, 2002
Don't let your children follow this link. :o)
Posted by Richard @ 06:54 PM BST [Link]
From our Florida correspondent...
I'm not sure about elsewhere in the world, but here in the US we began the most intense religious experience of the year beginning the day after our Thanksgiving celebration. Starting for some as early as 5 a.m. on Friday, November 29, the official Christmas Shopping Season began with huge sales at most stores. Mall parking lots were once again the scene of total chaos as people vied for elusive parking spots (somewhat like Tesco in downtown Swansea on a normal day) so that they could be the first in line to grab up whatever bargains they could. Retailers live for this period between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and this year that period is a good week shorter than usual because of the late date of Thanksgiving this year.A book has now been written proposing that his is not just a case of yearly shopping frenzy, but that for many it is truely a religious experience. They participate every year whether they have something to buy; schedules, relationships and any other priorities are set aside so that they can participate. More people will hit the stores between Thanksgiving and Christmas than will set foot in a church during the same period, though Christmas, I think, is still supposed to be the official celebration date for the birth of Christ.
One of our radio stations started playing round the clock Christmas music the week before Thanksgiving. They take pride in the fact that they will do this through Christmas day, but at the strike of midnight December 25, they will return to their regular music. Christmas comes to a screeching halt for secular society on Christmas day. The end of the capitalist religious celebration comes the next day when all the unwanted, broken or wrong sized Christmas gifts are returned or exchanged and Christmas decorations, now half off, are snatched up and stored away until the next year.
I am thankful to be in a church that still celebrates Advent. We lit the first candle this past Sunday, expained the Chrismon Tree (Christ Monograms Tree) and focused on the theme of preparation. We were even able to sing two Advent hymns and only one Christmas hymn without much grumbling by those who think we should start singing Christmas Hymns the Sunday after the stores start selling Christmas decorations (usually around October 31 when the Halloween sales end). We also had an empty manger in front of the altar (prepared for communion) which is in front of the cross. The borrowed manger led us to the last supper to the empty cross. The focus was on the Christ whose mass we will celebrate on December 24/25. I am also thankful that our Advent decorations keep being added to each week until we reach Christmas Eve, and then stay in place until Epiphany on January 6. Christmas begins with the celebration of the birth of Christ, not ends.
So, despite our almost total secularization of what should be one of the most sacred seasons of the year, there is hope that at least some will get it. My hope is that the Church will continue to be an influence for the love of Christ even though we are now in a post-Christian (some say even a pre-Christian) era and help the true meaning to transcend what the commercial and secular world have done with the birthday of our Savior.
Posted by Ivanthecrank @ 03:59 PM BST [Link]
There's a lot of good stuff over at Jordan Cooper's blog. If you've got some time to spare, there would be worse places to spend it.
And my thanks to Relevant Magazine for pointing me to this link. I had no idea I belonged to a religion other than Christianity.
Posted by Richard @ 01:22 PM BST [Link]
Martin Roth links to this online version of the 23rd Psalm and asks Can we transmit the spirituality of the Psalms online? Can we transmit spirituality online?
Truthfully, I'm not sure. I'd like to think that it might be done, but it won't be an eay task and I don't think I've ever seen it done well. Television's been around for decades, and I don't think it's been done there either. The difference, though, is that television is run by corporations who have to build the biggest possible audience whereas it's still possible for individuals and small groups with few resources to make an impact on the web. For a while at least.
(For what it's worth, I thought the online Psalm was a brave effort but ruined by the heavy presence of Z*van advertising)
Does anyone out there find the internet a place of spirituality? Perhaps you've tried an IM prayer meeting or shared communion at a distance? We need to know.
Posted by Richard @ 12:31 PM BST [Link]
Over at Religious Left Watch, Joel Fuhrmann writes:
One thing I do not accept however, is the attitude that government can be used to promote God's work, by taking from the rich and giving to the poor. As I've said before, government cannot be compassionate, only individuals have that capacity.I can understand where there is coming from politically and philosophically. But theologically?? I don't normally just lob in Bible verses and back away, but I don't have time for a sustained argument now so Romans 13: 1-7, Ezekiel 34: 1-10, 1 Samuel 10:1, Psalm 2:10-11, Micah 3: 1-3...Posted by Richard @ 11:41 AM BST [Link]
Wednesday, December 4, 2002
Bene Diction reckons this is lazy blogging. But the final point is compelling: We are living in a hurting world where most people are far removed from any of our comforts. What will we do about it?
Posted by Richard @ 11:41 PM BST [Link]
My friend Wood at the John Heron Project has started a new story. I didn't like the name of his lead character (I can't say why - at least not in a public space like this) so he changed it just for me. Cool. As he says, I owe him. The story is shaping up to be as intriguing as its title Bloody Mary and the exclusion of mirrors. Pop over and if you like it, drop Wood a line. And don't forget to tell him I sent you.
Posted by Richard @ 09:14 PM BST [Link]
The Christmas Weblog reports a fuss over Christmas angels in Wildwood. It caught my eye because Wildwood is only a few miles from the splendid City of Fruitland Park where I was on exchange this summer, and "Wildwood" is just one of those names that captures my imagination. I made a special trip there to watch a couple of freight trains trundle through, and very impressive they were too.
I hope, though, that drawing attention to the loonies who want the Christian elements taken out of Christmas doesn't become in itself disrespectful or disparaging of other faiths. I remember a few years back when Birmingham City Council in the UK decided that they would replace Christmas with "Winterval", spokesmen from the Muslim and Sikh communities were mystified and complained as loudly as the Christians.Posted by Richard @ 01:26 PM BST [Link]
The Bible Geek agrees with me. I don't think Fly Over Country does. But I can live with that. There are some interesting points in Fly Over Country's post though, which have wider implications than the debate about human sexuality.
Commenting on an article by the new Archbishop of Canterbury, FOC writesI've always wondered how alleged theologians have reconciled Romans chapter one with their acceptance of homosexual unions and clergy. Honestly, I've neither looked too hard nor engaged one of these men or women for the answer.Exactly! What characterises so much of what passes for "debate" between Christians is the assumption that we know what others will say before they've said it. We don't listen, we assume. We don't converse, we holler. Perhaps we should try it sometime.Secondly, there's the whole issue about how we read the scriptures. This, for me, is what lies behind most of the sexuality debate. Do we take every word at "face value" or is it OK to "pick and choose". I'd say neither is the proper approach - or maybe both. What I mean is, I start with the belief that the scriptures are my "supreme rule of faith and practice". However, the revelation of scripture needs interpretation: the scriptures were written in a cultural context just as we must admit that we read them from a cultural context. Both of these contexts will influence the meaning we read. This is not relativism, saying there are no right and wrong answers. It just means that we have to take the context seriously.
I won't promise always to agree with you. My interpretation of the Bible is likely to be "off" at least as often as yours. But what I can promise is that I'll try not to write you off as a horrid liberal who doesn't believe anything or an anti-intellectual fundamentalist tub-thumper. And when I don't keep my promise, I'll ask you to forgive me. Until that day when we se all things with perfect clarity we can treat one another as fellow disciples of Jesus, each striving to understand his will, who argue just as the first lot did, but who find common cause in the service of our master.
Posted by Richard @ 10:27 AM BST [Link]
Brianna at Sacred and Profane asks for your prayers. I'm sure we'll oblige. I've learned a new thing reading her blog. Would you have known what a "chapbook" is?
Posted by Richard @ 12:15 AM BST [Link]
Tuesday, December 3, 2002
Hearing the Call is on the move and asks:
How do you make time/space for devotion when you are travelling (particularly staying at someone's house)? I always have trouble with that aspect of my life when I'm visiting family. Last week, I was able to carve out about 10 minutes a day (time I spent reading Romans), but that's not what I usually do. How do you manage the challenge of continuing your devotions while the rest of your schedule is in upheaval due to travel?It's a good question, but it prompts me to wonder how we came to make personal devotions such a guilt-trip for Christians. Ask most believers how much they pray or read the Bible and they'll answer, "Not as much as I should." So instead of being a joyful communion with God, our devotions can so easily become a burden. Am I doing it right? Long enough or often enough? How do I fit it in my schedule? (I've just noticed how these questions echo the conversations we have with ourselves about sex - and I promise I'm not being flippant.)
I'm not saying that our personal devotions are not important. To pray, to read and study the scriptures - these are 'meat and drink' to disciples of Jesus. But let's get rid of the guilt.Posted by Richard @ 10:06 AM BST [Link]
Monday, December 2, 2002
Eve Tushnet has written a careful piece headed "Gay Stuff" and tries to answer the question of why homosexuality has become such a 'hot-button' issue. She manages to write without the usual invective that accompanies these discussions, and it's well worth reading.
I'd add a few thoughts of my own for what they're worth. She is quite right about the way this issue seems to have crept to occupy centre stage and taken a position which it certainly doesn't hold in the scriptures. Part of my work is with university students and it is interesting that attitudes to homosexuality have come to be the 'acid test' of authentic Christian leadership for many students. Similarly, the new Archbishop of Canterbury has already been taken to task over this issue even before his enthronement.
The problem is that western society is obsessed with sex. For sure we're as confused about it as we ever were, but you can't turn on a television here after 11pm without being treated to a visual feast (if that's the right turn of phrase) of human flesh, mostly female of course. The church is similarly obsessed. Instead of keeping these matters in their proper perspective, as the Bible surely does, we have followed the world and put sex and sexuality centre stage ourselves. Meanwhile, idolatry, greed and injustice pass by with barely a second glance...Posted by Richard @ 03:18 PM BST [Link]
Dave Barry [link via Bene Diction], on hearing the words "We three kings of orient are", finds the response "smoking on a rubber cigar" an irresistible temptation. That's a new one to me, and I can't help wondering how the rest of the verse might go. A British schoolboy is far more likely to respond with "one in a bus and one in a car" or even "selling knickers, tuppence a pair", which is easily my favourite.
We three kings of orient areOf course, I share this purely in the interests of transatlantic cultural enrichment, and not because schoolboy humour makes me laugh.
Selling knickers, tuppence a pair.
They're fantastic! No elastic!
Falling down everywhere.
Trust me, I'm a minister.Now, I wonder if I'm brave enough to ask readers to post their favourite Christmas carol alternative lyrics? All together now: "While shepherds washed their socks by night..."
Posted by Richard @ 10:14 AM BST [Link]
Sunday, December 1, 2002
