Be Still

Be still and know that I am God…

­Flathead Lake, Montana
©2010, Tony Reynolds

I’m personally in need of being reminded of this daily, hourly; would you believe, moment-by-moment?

That’s because try as I might, it is all too EASY for me to forget where my true strength lies: in my Lord and Savior, not in my own effort. Like Peter, I all too often take my eyes of the Master and focus instead on the waves raging around me, only to find myself sinking deeper and deeper into depression and self-pity. I wrote this meditation a couple months ago when I read this verse as part of my morning Scripture reading. From there, the thoughts just flowed. It was a time when I was worried about the future and felt guilty about the past, unable to focus on enjoying the present as I was squeezed between the two extremes of shoulda-beens and what-ifs.

I cannot change the past. I cannot affect the future. I only have today. God says to me:

Be still from fretting anxiety
Be still from trying to be good
Be still from being morally superior
Be still from seeking your own will
Be still from trying to measure up
Be still from wanting to fix things
Be still from regret about the past
Be still from worrying about the present
Be still from fearing the future
Be still from judging your neighbor
Be still from condemning yourself…

Cease your incessant striving…

Be still and know that I AM God.
I will be exalted in the heavens,
I will be exalted in the earth.

Psalm 46:10

My prayer is that this will be your prayer as well, that God will use this in your heart to calm your spirit as He makes room for His Spirit to work inside you, in the Name of the One who is able to save, even Jesus, AMEN.

Seeing Blue Like Jazz, and Thinking of Our Youth

In my years of teaching at Seattle Pacific University many fine speakers have visited our campus. But I can recall only two who prompted a large and fervent student turnout. One was Phil Yancey. The other was Donald Miller, author of “Blue Like Jazz.”

Though I have not yet read the book (I know, shame on me), I did watch the movie version the other night. I have to admit I was underwhelmed — by the movie, not the story, which director Steve Taylor says is loosely based on the book. Good intentions and honest effort are abundant in the film, but if you want to see what a movie looks (and sounds) like when you have a budget of “just” $1.2 million, then “Blue Like Jazz” could be Exhibit A.

Though I was ready to walk away after the first 10 minutes, I decided to stick it out. I’m glad I did.

The Gift of the Magi

Christmas 2012 is past and the new year is ahead of us. Like many others, I’ll be making resolutions for the new year, thinking of things I could do better, lessons I’ve learned or goals I’d like to meet for the coming year. But before leaving Christmas too far behind, I’d like to take stock of the gifts that I, like the Magi of old, can bring to the Christ child.

The Scriptures say that three wise men, Magi from the East brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the baby Jesus. We don’t really know what it was that made them come searching, but they told the authorities in Jerusalem that they’d “seen His star in the east”. They’d been on the lookout. Perhaps they were aware of the promise of a king from the Jewish Scripture, of which at least some must have been familiar to those from the Persian court going back to the time of Daniel. Regardless, the important thing is that they were looking and they heeded the call to go.

We too, over the past five weeks have been looking forward to the coming of Jesus. What can I bring to him? I can certainly give my time and talents, tithe the money I receive, but the most important gift any of us can give is ourselves. That’s the main thing that Mary, Joseph, the shepherds or anyone else in the story gave. All of them came away changed. Each that witnessed Jesus’ birth had a story to tell others. In the anticipation of Christmas we celebrate as Advent, we too are witnesses. What story do we, do I take back to my friends, coworkers and family?

Christmas is a season of giving, but it’s also a season of taking and partaking. We partake in the miracle of the coming of God into our world and we take something away from experiencing that miracle. For a world that is geared toward cynicism and strife, this yearly cycle brings hope and hopefully, change in our lives. If it doesn’t, then we give ourselves over to the consumerism and materialism of those around us, the season becoming a hollow charade rather than a time of wonder.

In “The Gift of the Magi”, O. Henry tells of a young couple who are very poor, just getting by. He has a gold pocket watch that was passed down to him and she lovely long hair. He wants a chain for his watch and she wants a decorative comb for her hair. In a stunning piece of irony, she sells her hair to buy him the chain and he sells his watch to buy her the comb, gifts given for things that no longer exist. But their love is proved in their willingness to sacrifice for each other, something we see in a far broader sense in Christmas. God sacrifices in becoming Man, and we sacrifice in giving ourselves to him, a cycle of giving, receiving and giving.

That’s what I’m thinking of as I enter 2013, giving, gifts and sacrifice. That should keep me busy all the way to Easter…

Advent – We Need Christ More Than Ever

As Christians around the world focus on the season of Advent, we’re reminded of the depravity of mankind and the real reason Jesus came to live among us, that the Light of the World could enter into our dark, evil, violent world. Shepherds were left speechless by angel choirs singing praise to the living God, we are left speechless by senseless acts of violence committed against innocents. Where else can we turn, but to the living God in times such as these?

Jesus had some who came to him and asked about the senseless violence around them. In Luke 13 we see that they told him of violence done to worshipers in God’s temple by Pilate, people killed while making sacrifices, and of eighteen who were killed when a stone tower near the pool of Siloam fell on them. While he could have responded by lecturing against the indiscriminate use of power by Rome or for better building standards, he didn’t. Jesus simply reminded those around him of their need to repent, that we will all perish, and not always in a way that makes sense.

God’s “Ta Da!”

Isaiah 29:17-19

¹⁷ In just a very short time
Lebanon will turn into an orchard,
and the orchard will be considered a forest.
¹⁸ At that time the deaf will be able to hear words read from a scroll,
and the eyes of the blind will be able to see through deep darkness.
¹⁹ The downtrodden will again rejoice in the Lord;
the poor among humankind will take delight in the Holy One of Israel.

Life in the Bud

A writer in my critique group has a delightful character named Nicholas in her children’s book. He’s a bug who loves to spin on his shell and drives everyone crazy with his jumping about. When his sister is just about fed up, he jumps up and yells, “Ta da!”

This time of year, with the early dark and the late dawn, life can feel heavy and slow. We’re often pinned indoors. Many people work long hours so they may never see the sun or get outside while it’s above the horizon. It can be discouraging.

I love to examine the shrubs in Winter. From inside they don’t look like much, but when you get up close you can see life swelling along the branches. Camellias especially have fat, swollen buds of the most vibrant green (with pink, white and red blossoms furled inside). If not blossoms, you can see the small pods on branches that will unfold into a haze of leaves once the days lengthen: Spring’s “Ta Da!” The life is in there, ready for the right conditions, protected. In the mean time, the plants will rest, store energy, and deepen their root systems so they can sustain the display when it’s time.

The Jews of Palestine must have been very discouraged as they waited in the long winter of silence before the unfurling of God’s blossom: Jesus. But there were small signs – a word, a gift, a revelation or saving action given by God along the way. The buds were swelling on the branch for those who watched closely.

Let us wait in hope, attentive. It’s dark outside, but the stage is set. Soon, there will be angels, fanfare, a birth! Heaven’s unfurling, God’s “Ta Da!”

Thankful for Love

The celebration of Thanksgiving, at least for me, isn’t just about turkey, football or parades, but a time of reflection. I’ve been thinking a lot over the last day or so what our interpersonal relationships should look like, and the passage on my mind is 1 Corinthians 13. This passage is most often quoted at weddings and while that use and others is okay, it takes the words out of context.

The Apostle Paul delivers the words of chapter 13 of his letter to a church deeply divided by conflict and torn into factions. Paul’s words are delivered to a church nearly ready to split at the seams due to sin, favoritism and ostentation. Though written nearly 2000 years ago, it has much to say to us today. Basically, Paul is telling us to practice this way of love not with those whom we already love, but with those we don’t. I’m to act in an loving manner, guided by the Spirit of God, towards those I disagree with, those I find unlovely, those with whom I might be divided.

Advent Week Four: Cave or Tunnel?

One my family’s regular and favorite places for a getaway is central Oregon. It’s a land of stunning beauty, shaped over millenia by volcanic activity as well as the forces of storms and erosion. One site we have visited from time to time is the Lava River Cave that is a part of the Newberry National Volcanic Monument just south of Bend. It’s a fascinating and somewhat unnerving experience to grab your lantern from the Ranger at the visitors’ center and to descend down into a tube formed after a volcanic eruption sent a stream of molten lava through a channel that later sealed over. It’s long — the tube extends almost a mile underground. It’s a bit treacherous — mostly it has a flat sandy floor, but some parts have rock formations on both the floor and ceiling that need to be navigated around. It’s cold — it stays about 42°F year-round. It’s end is unknown — a cave-in and the inflow of sand has blocked the way, but it’s thought to continue on the other side of the blockage. But most of all… It’s DARK!

Avent Week One: Inklings

Each Spring, the asthma attacks had grown more unpredictable, more resistant to the rescue meds.  After the big attack, we were afraid to leave our son alone for an instant.  Even my eldest, who rarely spoke about his brother’s condition, said, “What are we going to do next Spring?”  

Of our two children, the older most often wanted to sit at home, while the sickly one poured over books on the Amazon and Egypt.  Our hearts ached.  We watched him lie on the couch and look through the window, and wondered as Mary wondered, “How can this be?”

Advent Week One: Not Hollywood

In a blockbuster movie, the camera would linger on Mary’s face, or on baby Isaac with Sarah.  The light would be all glowy, and then…fade to the end music.  But the reality of the Biblical texts is more rough and complex.  Abraham would soon be called to hold a knife against Isaac’s throat, and Mary would receive another word from God.  “A sword will pierce your soul also.”

Before that, she and Joseph would flee with the babe from murderous Herod.

Flight into Egypt - Christina Sheppard, 1980

Where does the journey end for these good souls? For us?