Voice Box

are you listening? (reflections on the second Sunday of Epiphany)

In the Old Testament reading for the day, Samuel is hearing things.  This is striking.  This young boy, this miracle baby (remember Hannah, his barren mother) is hearing things.  Eli the priest deserved the same because of his sacred position.  But Eli heard nothing.  I Samuel 3:1 says that 'in those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many vision.'  But to this unlikely character, God begins to speak.

Then in John's Gospel, we hear God continue to speak.  Jesus, God's Word (there it is again - that thing that was rare in Eli's day), begins speaking.  His first few phrases aren't too profound.  Jesus, too, just as Samuel, is at this point an unlikely character.  Sure, with John's poetic and mystical introduction, and the Baptizer's witness, we, the readers, know whom we are watching.  But to those on the same shore of the Sea of Galilee and the same bank of the Jordan River, Jesus was a carpenter's son from that district where people have a funny accent.  But he is speaking.  And we are hearing the voice of God in the simple and mundane things.  He was being followed by some curious fisherman.  He turned and said 'What do you want?' (John 1:38).  These are the first words Jesus speaks in the gospel of John.  They asked where he was staying.  He said, 'Come and you will see' (John 1:39).  He renames Simon son of John as Cephas, and then in today's reading he says to Philip, 'Follow me.'

In Eli's experience, there was nothing to see, nothing to hear.  And that's not far off from the disciples first experiences.  Even one of the first disciples, Nathaniel, asks 'Nazareth!  Can anything good come from there? (John 1:46).

But I want to listen.  I want to see.  Is God speaking?

In the 1950s, John Cage, the philosopher and avant-garde composer known for his developments in chance music and electronic instruments, entered an anechoic chamber at Harvard University.  Physicists had worked to create a soundless space.  Cage enters and expects to hear nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  Instead he hears two tones, one high and one low.

The Psalm reading for the Second Sunday of Epiphany comes from chapter 139.  The psalmist says in verse 13 and following that the LORD created his inmost being, knit him together, made him fearfuly and wonderfully, made him in the secret place, wove him together in the depths of the earth, looked at his unformed body.

The two tones that John Cage heard were his nervous system firing and his circulatory system operating.  You see, it was so silent in that space, he could hear, as it were, those things for which teh psalmist praises God in Psalm 139.  He could hear his very life.  It needed to be the unplugged ears of an unpresuming child to hear the LORD speak with the word of God and visions were rare.  It needed to be uneducated and curious fisherman to hear the LORD speak when a wandering Rabbi began to preach that the kingdom is near.

I want to listen.  I need to be silent and still.

next steps for orphan care in Ethiopia

Tom Davis went to Ethiopia with a small team in October to assess and capture a vision for orphan care in that beautiful and ancient country that has been plagued in recent decades by hunger, poverty, and disease.  Tomorrow, Samantha Kerr, HopeChest's Program Services Director, is going to Ethiopia to set up infrastructure - gather information for sponsorship, hire and train staff, set up accounting practices and procedures.  This is all in preparation for an exciting Vision Trip in April when Tom will take over pastors and church volunteers to connect their churches with holistic, long-term, and redemptive ministry.  Please join me in praying for Samantha for the next 10 days.  Look here for her itinerary, goals, and prayer requests: Download ET Itinerary and prayer requests.

an atheist confesses Africa's need for God

A British journalist and a staunch atheist makes a provocative statement in this story from the London Times.  Read it here: As an atheist, I truly believe Africa needs God.

another church sponsors an orphanage in Russia

I traveled with a small team to Russia in November - three people from Woods Chapel Church near Kansas City, Stephanie, David, and Lorna, and a dear friend of mine, a business owner, an eccentric philanthropist, and perhaps the most honest Christian I know, Harrell from southeastern Virginia.  (I'm sure those who know and love Harrell as I do appreciate this description of him.) 

On Sunday, Woods Chapel began sponsoring a boarding school in Velikoretskoe, Kirov, Russia with 46 orphaned children.  Now through the relationships and resources that the good people at Woods Chapel Church will offer, 46 children growing up as orphans will have holistic, long-term, and redemptive solutions to the challenges they face.  They will grow up knowing that God loves them and that they have a hope, and a future.  This is the heart of what Children's HopeChest does around the world - in Russia, Swaziland, Ethiopia, and Uganda - connecting two communities and watching each be transformed. 

If your church or community or business, or one that you're connected with, would like to go on this adventure of compassionate action, just as Woods Chapel Church has, please email me right away at daniel@hopechest.org.  I'm leading another Vision Trip to Russia in April.  There are six orphanages in Kirov and three Family Centers in Kostroma that are waiting for sponsors.

working to end human trafficking in your own community

I'm so proud of my wife, Julie.  She's an inspiration to me in every way imaginable - as a wife, a mother (of 2 and 1 on the way), a worshiper, a friend (watching her friendships with others is amazing), as a cook (!), and as an advocate and activist for women and children at risk.  As a recent law grad with a focus in international human rights and child advocacy, and as the Founder and Executive Director of doma international (this is a link to the facebook page - the website is coming this week or next), she has kept herself busy on behalf of the poor and oppressed. 

Recently she has become a part of the steering committee of CONEHT, the Colorado Network to End Human Trafficking.  Yes, even in Colorado, even in Colorado Springs, the evangelical mecca, humans are being trafficked for dehumanizing purposes.  Read this story from the Denver Post in February 2007: State mobilizes to fight human trafficking.  In this piece, State Representative Borodkin says it well.  This is a hideous and hidden and complex crime against humanity.  It's happening not only in our major coastal cities of Miami, New York, LA, and Seattle, but it's happening in places like Denver and Colorado Springs.  Watch this video that exposes what's going on with human trafficking in Colorado.  It's happening where you live, too.  And some of the comments after this Youtube video reveal the kind of absurd and disgusting views and behaviors that perpetuate this crime - one example is the guy who suggests people start using ebay to abduct, traffick, buy and sell sex slaves.  Reading this made me angry.  Angry!

Again, this is a complex, hidden, and hideous crime.  And it's business, so to understand it in one way is to use business and economic principles of supply and demand.  It is difficult for the average person to deal with the issue of supply, apprehend and prosecute the mobsters who abduct, isolate, and violate these girls.  It is difficult, maybe inappropriate, and even impossible, for you to operate a stakeout and sting of a brothel in your city or in Bangkok or Moscow.  But on the other end of the economic equation is demand.  We can endeavor together to have healthy and whole views and practices of sexuality in our homes, our marriages, our relationships, our families, our churches, and our schools.

Remember, God created people in God's image, men and women, boys and girls.  Each person living, whether good or evil, slave or free, has the life-giving and illuminating breath of God in them.  If we start here theologically, it becomes apparent and urgent to respond to this abhorrent need.  Ending human trafficking then becomes an issue of worship and discipleship.

immerse, inspire, imitate (reflections on the baptism of our Lord)

I'm going to start something new.... days of the week foci on my blog.  Mondays I will share a reflection on the previous day's readings from the Revised Common Lectionary.  Many churches in the US use this guide for the Old Testament, Psalm, New Testament, and Gospel readings for each Sunday, including Disciples of Christ, Episcopals, Lutherans, Presbyterians, United Methodists, United Church of Christ, and American Baptist churches.  This is a devotional practice for me and I hope that it serves the readers of this blog.  This week I have an advantage because I preached yesterday at Holy Trinity Anglican Church so I've spent a lot of time this week thinking, praying, studying, and talking about this text.

Mark 1:4-8

4 And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6 John wore clothing made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And this was his message: "After me comes the one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

John is a rare bird.  He is a son of the establishment.  His father is Zechariah the priest, but John eschews this privileged and sanctimonious upbringing to head to the desert.  The wilderness is a fitting place to begin Mark's gospel. The gospel is sparse, bare bones, thirsty.  It moves from one action to the next without much discourse or description.  So by verse 4 we've skipped over the genealogy of Matthew, the long lead-up to Jesus's birth in Luke, and the esoteric poetry of John.  We're on the banks of the Jordan.

I'm sure John was an entertaining guy to go see.  Maybe a bit like Brother Jed who preaches on the Ohio State campus.  He was fringe, to be sure.  And baptism wasn't too far off the mark.  Many homes and communities had something called a mikveh, it was basically a stone hot-tub used for cleansing - it had both physical and spiritual implications.  But something more than this was drawing people to John's message.  After all, mark tells us that the WHOLE Judean countryside and ALL the people of Jerusalem went to see him.

Frederick Bonhoeffer says that when we are alone in our sins we are utterly alone.  Maybe this is why people came.  Maybe in the bustling metropolis of Jerusalem, they felt alone.  John was preaching the forgiveness of sins.  John is saying that you are not alone in your sins.

Another magnet of John's prophetic preaching was that he was telling people where to look - After me comes the one more powerful than I.  One of my favorite songs, Moon River, captures this sentiment: Two drifers off to see the world, there's such a lot of world to see.  Jerusalem, with its Greek cultural influences, Roman political influences, and Second Temple Judaism, its multiple languages, its trade routes - there was a lot to see.  But John was pointing to what was worth looking at.  Look to the one coming.

Many people ask why Jesus was baptized by John.  Was it because he was also repenting of his sin?  Was it to be an example for us?  I think something other, something more is happening.  I think these two reasons give us the clue.  Jesus affirms John's teaching.  'Yes, John is right.  You're not alone in your sin.  I'm here.  I'm allying myself with you.  Look to me.  We're in this together.'

Mark 1:9-11

9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."

Jesus is immersed.  He submits to John's baptism - in a show of solidarity, alliance, and identification with the rest of the people - the WHOLE Judean countryside and ALL of Jerusalem - standing on the shore not wanting to be alone in their sins, not knowing where to look.

Julie and I went to Strasbourg, France in the summer of 2005.  She studied international human rights at the European Court of Human Rights and I tagged along, reading and writing in cafes and coffee shops, taking walks and going to organ recitals in medeival cathedrals.  It was amazing.  We also got a Eurail pass and traveled a bit on the weekends.  One long weekend we went down to Nice, and then up into the foothills of the Alps, to a village named Sospel, to camp with some friends, Steve, Shelly, Spiro, and Emily.  On the recommendaiton of the campground's owner, we went for a hike to a beautiful waterfall with its source somewhere high and far away in the snow-covered Alps.  The water was freezing cold, but I couldn't resist.  I jumped in.  It was a highlight of the summer: getting drenched, immersed, cleansed in that cold water.

So Jesus is baptized, and as he comes up he looks to the sky and the heavens are ripped open (the same Greek word used to describe what happens to the temple curtain at the crucifixion).  And the Spirit of God descends on him.  This 'descent' is not just a white, peaceful bird floating down on air currents, it carries with it the connotation to a Greek-speaking Jew of the day of something coming down from the temple in Jerusalem.  And it's the same word in the Septuagint's translation of Ezekiel 47 when the river that flows form the temple gets wider and wider and dumps into the dead places (the wilderness - where John is preaching) and brings life and healing and abundance.  This gives us great insight into what it means to be baptized in the Holy Spirit - a question that has brought much division and misunderstanding in the current evangelical climate.  To be baptized in the Holy Spirit is to stand with Jesus as he draws the source of healing, life, and abundance from the sanctuary of God.

After seeing the heavens ripped open, tearing apart the barrier between God and humans, after seeing the Spirit descend upon him in a movement of life and healing from the source of God's presence, Jesus hears a voice saying, 'I love you, Love, you give me delight and pleasure.'

Just last summer, a couple years after my dip in the cold pool in Sospel, France, I went with my family and some friends to New York's Finger Lakes for a week's vacation.  We went hiking near Watkins Glenn and happened upon a similar location - a waterfall and a cold pool.  It was beautiful.  I remember my dip three years earlier and went for it.  I took off my shirt and shoes and jumped in.  Halfway to the waterfall, I came up for air to hear my wife screaming from the shore.  She was holding Lucy, who was only six months old at the time, and couldn't put her down on the rocky shore.  But Judah, my 2 year old son had take off his shirt and pants and, in his diaper, was walking, now waste deep, toward me.  I turned to him to hear him say, 'I'm coming too, daddy.'

Maybe this is a picture of the Christian life.  As Jesus identifies with us in our loneliness and confusion, we stand in the source of life, and hear God say, 'I love you, Love, you give me pleasure and delight.'  And Jesus says back to his Father, 'I'm coming too, daddy.'

The beauty of it all is that the Holy Spirit draws us into this loving relationship between Jesus and his Father and we are welcomed into the family.

It's cold and snowing now in Colorado Springs, but I can't wait for the next chance to take a cold and refreshing dip with my son.

Uganda Vision Trip video - part 3 of 3

Watch Part 3.

Uganda Vision Trip video - part 2 of 3

Watch part 2.

Uganda Vision Trip video - part 1 of 3

Bobby Arnold, a high school student from near Orlando, FL, joined me and several others on a Vision Trip to Uganda in October with Children's HopeChest.  He brought along his equipment and has produced a 20 minute film about our experience there.  You don't want to miss this.

Watch Part 1.

a creative and subversive way to celebrate Christmas

If you can't tell, I'm holding on to Christmas as long as I can. Today is actually the day that Orthodox Christians around the world celebrate the birth of Christ. Happy Orthodox Christmas!

Check out this beautiful image: Our Lady of the New Advent.  And don't forget to read the short post to learn about the artists and the method.  I love it.  For those who observed the Advent Conspiracy this year, this is yet another reminder of our call to turn consumption into compassion.