Voice Box

two experts speak about suffering

About 2 months ago we had a conversation on this blog about suffering, the presence of evil in the world, the role of faith, and the place of God in all of this.  Recently, BeliefNet has started a blogalogue between two very smart men much more qualified than I to talk about this things, Bart Ehrman and N.T. Wright.  You can follow the dialogue here.

eyes open/eyes closed (reflections on Orthodox Pasca)

Saturday night I went to the Pascha service at Holy Theophany Orthodox Church.  It began at 11:30pm.

I felt tension the entire time.  It's not because I stood reverently for 2 and 1/2 hours (and that wasn't even the whole service).  It's not because I only knew a couple people there and felt out of place.  It's not because I feel uncomfortable with Orthodox theology and practice (you may know me well enough to know that that's not true). 

I felt tension because I didn't know whether to open my eyes or close them.  If I closed my eyes, the beautiful singing and the enchanting incense captured me soul in a special and healing way.  If I opened my eyes, the devotion of the worshipers and the beauty of the iconography drew me deep into adoration and reflection.

It is not often that we encounter something so beautiful that we know not whether to open our eyes or close them in order to fully experience it.  Shouldn't our celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ be one of those things?

So going forward from Easter (a month ago in our Western Protestant practice and this past weekend in Eastern Orthodox practice) let's live with our eyes opened at times and our eyes closed at times in order to fully encounter the beauty of God.

To learn more about the service, you can check out a couple different sites: Holy Pascha from the Orthodox Church in America website, Pascha from OrthodoxWiki, and the texts for the service of Pascha.

the darkest day (reflections on Orthodox Holy Saturday)

Julie, Judah, Lucy, and I were blessed to spend Easter with my brother and his wife, Ben and Sarah, in Indianapolis.  They attend Bethelehem Lutheran.  We attended Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Resurrection Sunday services.  They were beautiful, majestic, haunting, celebratory.  On Holy Saturday, we began outside a dark church around a bonfire, the service led us inside where a moving service, complete with a piano, harp, and clarinet ensemble awaited.  We affirmed our baptism - our identification with the death of Jesus.  Holy Saturday is the darkest day in the liturgical calendar.  Jesus Christ has been crucified and darkness has fallen on all.

Today is Holy Saturday in the Eastern Orthodox Church.  The reason it is a month later than in Protestant and Catholic Churches is that the Orthodox follow the Julian calendar rather than the more modern Gregorian calendar.

Here is a short description of this day's significance.  This comes from my friends at Saints Constantine and Helen Holy Theophany Church in Colorado Springs.

We celebrate the burial of Christ and His descent into Hell.  At Matins, served Friday Evening the Lamentations, or funeral service, of Christ is sung before the Tomb.  God in the flesh now observes His Sabbath rest in the tomb, but we look forward to the moment when He will rise again, bringing new life and recreating the world.  At the end of the service a procession is made around the church - indicating Christ’s triumphal procession through the darkness of Hell, announcing to Adam  His coming Resurrection.
Vesperal Liturgy the morning of Holy Saturday has a strong baptismal character.  Three connected themes of Passover, Resurrection, and Baptismal initiation  - reflected in the prescribed fifteen OT readings  - dominate the service.  In the tomb Christ is already triumphant over the gates of Hell; thus the colors change from dark to white at this service in anticipation of His glorious Resurrection for us on earth.
Late this evening we will gather once again in the darkened church for the midnight service of Nocturns. All  wait in silence and contemplation for the moment the priest will come out from the sanctuary with a burning candle symbolizing the light of the risen Christ at the very first moment of that glorious Third Day.  Then will we cry out the eternal cry of the faithful:  Christ is Risen!  Indeed He is Risen!

an encouraging response to WHAT I HAVE

Last week, Children's HopeChest launched a creative and practical initiative called WHAT I HAVE that enables you to clear your life of the unneeded excess and turn that into resources that will aid orphaned children in Eastern Europe and Africa.  You may have heard about this through an email from HopeChest, through facebook, through this blog, or through other blogs and social networking sites.  So far there is an encouraging response.  Check it out...

'love it, good job, thanks.'

'this is great!'

'This is a great idea.  I'll be praying for much success!'

'great idea.'

'I LOVE this idea!  I'm bringing it to the dinner table tonight.  I think each person in my family is up to participating in this act of caring!'

'I have been a big fan of Children's Hopechest for awhile.  Just wanted to drop you a line and say "nice job" on the campaign/posters/etc... Everything looks great.  I've forwarded it on to several others involved in Global Outreach at my church.  Keep up the excellent work!'

'Thanks. I'm passing on the word through my blog.'

'It would be a blessing to share!'

'I love this idea.'

'It's a good idea; frankly, I was thinking about something like this for this week's message: we're talking about Christianity & Cash, and using the luke passage "sell your possesions, etc."  So I'll suggest hope chest as a call to action.'

'Love it. I wonder if what you’re talking about is similar to what we’ve done the past few years. We give our stuff to a local charity and then when tax season comes, I document every item that we gave away that year and the government gives us a deduction. This year it was 500 dollars so that money goes to seriously poor kids overseas.'

I'm sharing these comments with you because to live a life of courageous and creative compassion is not easy.  In the face of materialism and an economy that makes us want to circle the wagons instead of extend our reach, it would be easy to pass by the battered man on the road - as the priest and Levite did.  Rather, as the despicable (later to be known as 'Good') Samaritan did, let's not pass by. There is a movement in the church of people refusing to pass by.  There is a movement of people willing to give 1 tunic away if they have 2. 

Discover the joy of compassionate living.

what i have

May 11 is The Day of Pentecost.  It is 50 days after Easter Sunday and 10 days after Ascension Thursday.  It is the day when the Church around the world celebrates the Holy Spirit coming in power so that we may be witnesses to the new life of Christ.

Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. - Acts 2:45
Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. - Acts 3:6

The early church was known by their generosity. Christianity was even criticized as a "religion of widows and orphans." As we celebrate the church on the Day of Pentecost, let's seek the same criticism and live with the same life-giving generosity. There are millions of orphaned children waiting for you to give them what you have. Give what you have.

SELL

1. Choose a personal item of value (a leather coat, an electric guitar, a video game system, a canoe, jewelry, furniture, a collector's item, etc.)
2. Sell the item. You can use whatever method is most familiar to you: eBay, Craigslist, a yard sale, a consignment shop, or the classifieds.
3. Collect the money.

GIVE

1. Go to hopechest.org; choose "GIVE" and fill out the form or follow this link.
2. Write "What I Have 2008" in the Notes/Child Reference Number field.

PROMOTE

Click on the links below to download promotional materials for use in your church, small group, or school. There are several versions of the poster formatted for different sizes and usages. Feel free to re-post this information all over the Internet too (on Facebook, your blog, MySpace, or wherever your online home is.)

What I Have powerpoint slide - POWERPOINT SLIDE
What I Have 11X17 poster - Download what_i_have_poster.pdf
What I Have 8.5X5.5 bulletin insert - Download what_i_have_bulletin_insert.pdf
What I Have 8.5X11 flyer - Download what_i_have_8.5 x 11 flyer.pdf

These funds will be directed toward the most urgent and strategic programs in holistic and long-term orphan care in Eastern Europe and Africa. Some of those outreaches could include:

Feeding programs
Educational initiatives
Health care
Community development
Spiritual discipleship

If you have any questions, email me or call me at (719) 955-4009.

Children's HopeChest is a member in good standing of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.

seeing is believing (thomas gets a good report and we learn where to look for Jesus)

St. Thomas said that unless he could see and touch the scars in Jesus' hands, he would not believe.

Doubting Thomas.  This is how we know him.  The disciples get a bad rap.  And at times it seems they deserve it.  We talk a lot about how they never really understood Jesus’ message, how Judas betrayed, how Peter denied, and how Thomas doubted.  Doubting Thomas.

He is incredulous.  This is part of his character.  And it’s a part that we can all identify with, but we need a broader picture of Thomas.

In John 11, Jesus has just learned that his dear friend Lazarus is dead and his sisters Mary and Martha are grieving.  Jesus decides to go the village where the grieving family is.  Thomas said to the others, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him.’ (v16)

Thomas is not only incredulous.  He is also invested and intense.  There is a reckless abandonment, a whole-hearted and courageous faith that we see in a statement like, ‘let’s go die.’

In John 14, Jesus is speaking words to his disciples that have become so familiar to the Church.  He is telling them of the Father’s house.  A question Thomas asks helps to add texture and authenticity to this conversation.  Jesus says, 'you know the way to the place where I am going.'  Thomas speaks up with desperation and honesty... 'no we don't!'  'Jesus, where are you going, how do we get there?'  Jesus replies by sharing with his followers that he is indeed the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Thomas’s honest question gives us a most memorable saying of Jesus.  He is not only incredulous.  He is not only invested and intense.  But he is also inquisitive as he investigates the faith and what Jesus is really saying.

My 2 year old son makes two requests that I almost always fulfill.  'Holgit.'  This means he wants to hug and hold the baby, 4 month old Lucy.  And 'See Mama.'  He wants to go to where she is in the house and greet her with mutliple hugs and kisses.  These simple requests from a child to his father need often to be answered - let me see!  let me touch!

And Thomas’s request is one that Jesus answers - let me see!  let me touch!  I think we can all relate to this.  We can all relate to wanting to see Jesus alive – in us, around us, through us. 

Because as much as we criticize Thomas, there is a saying we are all familiar with… ‘seeing is believing.’  It’s part of who we are.  Seeing is a really important part of our life.  It’s one of the five ways we interact with the physical world.  God gave us this gift of sight.  So, at the end of the day, I don’t want to be so down on Thomas the Doubter.  I’ve been there.  Seeing is believing.  I want to see Jesus alive.  And Jesus longs to show himself to us alive.

So where do we see Jesus alive today?

 

the pope's address to the un

The human story begins in beauty, dignity, community, and purpose.  The Imago Dei is the Judeo-Christian belief that humans are made in the image of God.  As Christians we are compelled to see those who are suffering and oppressed introduced to their true identity in God.  They are not 'trash,' but they have 'personhood,' as one of my dear friends who grew up in a Russian orphanage has said.  The Pope addressed the UN today and spoke of 'the founding principles of the Organization - the desire for peace, the quest for justice, respect for the dignity of the person, humanitarian cooperation and assistance - express the just aspirations of the human spirit, and constitute the ideals which should underpin international relations.'  These are also in large part the principles of our faith - peace, justice, respect for the dignity of persons.  Read his address.

a justice revival in my hometown

I'm proud to come from Columbus, Ohio.  That's where THE Ohio State University is.  And even though Florida and LSU has got the best of us in the past couple years, it's still a football dynasty and a great place to live.  Go Bucks!

I'm proud of Columbus, and I am especially proud of what's going on there now.

Vineyard Church of Columbus is currently hosting a 3-day Justice Revival.  Among the featured guests are Jim Wallis of Sojourners, author of Great Awakening, God's Politics, Faith Works, and The Soul of Politics, and worship leader Matt Redman.

Check out this article in the Columbus Dispatch about the event: 'Faithful aim to aid poor, as Jesus did.'

home again

I left home on March 20, Maundy Thursday, with my wife, Julie, and two kids, Judah and Lucy.  I finally got home last night, April 15, at 10pm.  It was a whirlwind tour that took me to nine different cities in 6 different states.  I was able to visit with pastors, church leaders, adoptive parents, adoption professionals, and politicians in Indianapolis, IN, Columbus, OH, Erie, PA, Buffalo, NY, Philadelphia, PA, Washington, DC, Richmond, VA, Hampton, VA, and Chapel Hill, NC.  As you can guess, I put quite a few miles on a rental car.

The 4 week trip ended with Christ United Methodist Church in Chapel Hill launching sponsorship of an orphanage with 140 children in Slobodskoi, Kirov, Russia.  What a great way to end an encouraging and exhausting trip through the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic!  In addition to walking with churches toward engaging in holistic, long-term, and redemptive orphan care through Children's HopeChest, I was able to hear about some incredible things happening with the people of God and the poor in Liberia, Ghana, Haiti, Honduras, Kenya, Dominican Republic, India, Nicaragua, Ethiopia, Brazil, and right here in our own neighborhoods and cities.  God is on mission!

More and more Churches are getting motivated and mobilized to care for the needs or orphaned children and those living in extreme poverty.  It is a cry we can no longer afford to ignore.  When Moses encounters I AM at the burning bush in Exodus 3, God speaks from a couragious heart of compassion:  ⁷ The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. ⁸ So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey.'  Nearly 150 million children are crying out.  They have been orphaned, abandoned, and rejected.  They have been institutionalized and enslaved.  Meet God at the burning bush.  Meet God in God's courageous and compassionate heart to free people from slavery and suffering, from oppression and being orphaned.

⁵ A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
       is God in his holy dwelling.    
⁶ God sets the lonely in families,
       he leads forth the prisoners with singing... (Psalm 68)