“Blessed are those who get the joke.”

I just finished Frederick Beuchner's book and found it to be very good.  This post is based on this book.  If this post strikes your interest I would encourage you to check it out.

Genesis chapter 17 tells us the story of a geriatric couple who were childless. Two oldies that stopped dreaming a long time ago. What it would be like to have kids? And now, in their late nineties, what it would be like to have grandchildren. Their dreams filled with youngsters who would sit in their laps to hear their stories. Children who would fill their home with laughter and run and play at their feet. The sound of laughing, and playing children didn’t seem to be in the cards for these two old folks. The embarrassment; living in a time where having children was such an honor and such a sign of favor. Yet, in spite of all their wishful thinking, and all of their hopes, Sarah was today like she had been yesterday, barren.

But this is not the end of the story. In their old age they have a visitor, an angel as a matter of fact. He comes baring news, ridiculous news actually, the news that Sarah will actually conceive. This news, so ridiculous that we are told Abraham fell on his face laughing. He did not give just a little belly laugh; he falls on his face knowing how incredibly preposterous a hundred year old man having a baby is. The Lord appeared again some time later we are told in Genesis 18 and Sarah overhears the Lord talking about this, wore out women, as she calls herself, having a child. What is her response? She laughs! When asked why she was laughing, she denies it, and the Lord says no, you did laugh. And because this is all so ridiculously funny, these old bags having a child, they wind up naming him Isaac, which means laughter-- “And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.”


We are apart of this promise to Abraham. We are the heirs as well—“ And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise” (Gal 3:29). So you see, their joke is our joke as well because it is just as ridiculous that God would send his only son to die for lowly sinners. It is the unbelievable news that in our state of hopelessness, in our tragedies, when we are at out wits end and we are done hoping and longing that God steps in and makes us laugh with delight. In the midst of our sinful tragedy we can laugh because we are among the redeemed, we have been brought in on the joke, “but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles “ (1 Corinthians 1:23). It is this lunacy that saves us , this foolhardiness is the power of God. It is a fairly tale that God will come for us his bride, breaking into our existence and take us away to his kingdom.

Blessed are those who get the joke!

Leithart on Lent

I saw this post and thought I would share it.

Lent is a season for taking stock and cleaning house, a time of self-examination, confession and repentance. But we need to remind ourselves constantly what true repentance looks like. “Giving up” something for Lent is fine, but you keep Lent best by making war on all the evil habits and sinful desires that prevent you from running the race with patience.

Going through the motions of Lent without turning to God and putting our sins to death is hypocrisy, and few things rile our God so much as hypocrisy. “Rend your hearts and not your garments,” Joel says.

So: During this season, don’t just give up soft drinks; mount a concerted campaign against impatience. Don’t just put aside your favorite TV show; subdue your anger. Don’t just fast; kill your self-centeredness.

This doesn’t make Lent a season for gloominess and defeat. On the contrary, during this season we celebrate the victorious suffering and death of Jesus, and we should enter the season trusting in the Spirit of Jesus, who subdues our flesh and molds us to the image of Christ.

Lent is a season for joy also because it is a motif in a larger composition. The rhythm of the church year follows the rhythm of the Lord’s day service. Each week, we pass through a small “Lenten” moment in our liturgy, as we kneel for confession. But we don’t kneel through the whole service, and in the same way we don’t observe the fast forever.

Jesus tells us to fast with washed faces and anointed heads, that is, to fast as if prepared for a feast. We fast properly when we fast not only in humility but in hope; we keep the fast when we fall before God full of repentance but also full of confidence that our Great King will raise us up.

Zeal

The kind of religion that God requires, and will accept, does not consist in weak, dull, and lifeless "wouldings"-those weak inclinations that lack convictions-that raise us but a little above indifference.  God, in his word, greatly insists that we be in good earnest, fervent in spirit, and that our hearts be engaged vigorously in our religion:

"Be fervent in spirit, serving the Lord" (Romans 12:11).

-Jonathan Edwards, A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections (1746)

Guitar

One of my passions is music, particularly good guitar playing.  Since Michael Hedges, a number of players have been pushing the envelope- attacking the instrument in unconventional ways, particularly honing in on tapping.  Here are some guys, Eric Mongrain and Andy Mckee who are quite impressive.  I hope you enjoy these videos as much as I have.

"O" NO...2009

We are rolling into January and we, by now, are getting into life as usual. I had some friends tell me that they are ready to get back into the routine after taking holiday respite. For myself however, I am never that thrilled about the routine.

So what is your resolution? What is going to make life better for you this year? What thing or things did you get disgusted with last year and have embarked on changing this New Year? Have you started out of the gates with resolve and tenacity to not let those things entangle you again? The bad news is, we are failures. The old adage that, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions” rings true. How many people never lost any weight, or failed to keep it off? Or continued to be nasty to their spouse or, fill in the blank, after swearing that this year would be different? Look at the cover of “O” this month; the queen of estrogen motivation herself is a prime example.

I like the idea of New Years resolutions. But, I think we can miss the point that this is our everyday call. That resolving anew is the rhythm of our lives. We can put it into many different biblical terms like: putting off the old man and putting on the new, taking up our cross daily, renewing our minds, etc. Our sacramental call to worship is that we follow that very pattern. We die, we bury the old man, and we rise with newness of life in resurrection power. This is the pattern of the Lord’s Supper, this is the reality of baptism, and they both speak to our identity as the “New Man.”

I want to resolve to do this daily, knowing like a child I have an inability to advance my own cause apart from the help, direction, and resources of my heavenly Father. May we all find the grace and help we need to “put to death and put away” those things that are earthly in us (Colossians 3:5-8) this year and all the years that we tarry.

I'll Do It Tomorrow...

In my struggle to not procrastinate, and this is my struggle- these are welcome words to both encourage and challenge me. I hope they do the same for you.

"No unwelcome tasks become any the less unwelcome by putting them off till tomorrow.
It is only when they are behind us and done,
that we begin to find that there is a sweetness to be tasted afterwards,
and that the remembrance of unwelcome duties unhesitatingly done is welcome and pleasant.

Accomplished, they are full of blessing,
and there is a smile on their faces as they leave us.
Undone, they stand threatening and disturbing our tranquility,
and hindering our communion with God.

If there be lying before you any bit of work from which you shrink,
go straight up to it, and do it at once.
The only way to get rid of it is to do it."

-Alexander MacLaren (1826–1910), Scottish preacher

Peace

It is Christmas again and I am hoping everyone got all the things that they wanted. In the midst of a declining economy, with the threat of a recession and continued recession, I wonder if it has slowed our consumeristic stride? There seems to be such a drive to buy, spend, and live life like there are no warnings. The surgeon general’s warnings don’t stop most of the hoi polloi from tobacco use and it doesn’t seem as if the recent economical red flags will slow our drive to purchase more stuff. Well, with tobacco use it is an addiction, and so is our consumerism

In our hearts there seems to be a refusal to “stop and listen to the music.” The music that may be playing a melody of loneliness, or boredom, broken relationships, shame and contempt; we all have our songs. If we stopped buying, cooking, laughing, drinking, acting, eating, recreating etc, we would hear the inner clamoring-and then what would happen? We would have to face “IT.”

O the courage to stop, to tune in, to tune in to our heart, hurts and addictions-not keep life on autopilot and take up courage; courage that comes from believing in the man who was tortured and bloodied on a cross. Jesus who the prophet Isaiah spoke of saying, that by his stripes we could be healed.

I hope the baby in the manger is your healer. May we stop, for God’s sake, and our own, to allow Jesus the baby, the man, the bloodied sacrifice, the risen King, to come into our clamoring hearts and bring PEACE.


Love has come and peace is here….

Amen